High School Life
by Abandoned.See new ZefronsAngel
Summary: When Troy and Gabriella, who have been friends since they were toddlers, enter high school, they find themselves in a complicated world full of all sorts of problems. Will they be able to conquer them all?
1. First Day

**Hey, here's my new story. Clique, I know, but I need to do something light an happy to get my mind off of drama. I mean, there will be a little drama in here along with some humor, but it will mostly be romance and friendship! And I pinkie swear I won't delete this one!**

* * *

To define the word 'inseparable,' the dictionary might as well say, 'Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez.'

Ever since Gabriella had moved next door to Troy when she was only three years old, the two children had become fast friends, as did their parents. They did everything from playing on Gabriella's swing set to taking naps beside one another to getting in trouble. And when they got in trouble, they got in _big_ trouble. In fact, there was one time in particular when they were naughty that neither Troy, Gabriella, nor their parents would forget as long as they all lived.

_Troy and Gabriella had just finished splashing mud onto one another, shoving it in each other's hair, and lying down in it to make 'mud angels.' It was the first time their parents had let them in Gabriella's fenced backyard alone for half an hour, and unfortunately, they had chosen the wrong day to do it, as the downpour from the previous day had turned all the dirt into sticky mud._

_"Mommy!" little Gabriella called as she stepped into her house with Troy right behind her. "Mommy! Me and Twoy got diwty!"_

_When no response came, Gabriella and Troy ran into the living room, leaving a trail of mud on both the tiled kitchen floor and the caramel-colored carpet._

_"Oh my gosh!" Gabriella's mother, Maria, exclaimed in horror, her eyes growing wide as she jumped up out of the seat she was sitting in and clasped her hand over her mouth. "You came in here all muddy like this! Oh my gosh! Both of you-get upstairs and in the bathroom now!"_

_"Troy, how dare you mess someone's house up!" Lucille, Troy's mother, scolded sternly as she arose from the couch to assist Maria with the children._

_"I don't wanna take a bath!" Gabriella whined as she saw her mother filling the bathtub with water._

_"Troy's gonna take one with you," Maria said. Gabriella hated taking baths alone, but the few times she had taken one with Troy, she had had a great time, for the two had spent three hours playing with bath toys and splashing one another._

_Gabriella jumped up and down. "Yay!" She clapped her tiny hands as a delighted smile lit up her face. "Twoy, you'we gonna take a bath with me!"_

_Troy, too, began jumping and clapping._

_When the tub was filled, Troy and Gabriella's mothers took the awfully soiled clothes off their children._

_"Alright, in the water you go," Maria sighed, helping her daughter over the side of the bathtub._

_"You, too, Troy," Lucille said, placing Troy beside Gabriella._

_"We want toys!" Troy shouted._

_"No, not yet. I would like you to get clean first, and I'm sure Brie's mommy wants her to do the same. Now I'm going to run to our house and get some clean clothes for you. Be good and listen to Mrs. Montez. Mommy will be right back."_

_"Alright, you two. Start getting your hair wet so it can be shampooed," Maria said after Lucille left._

_Troy and Gabriella took the large plastic cup resting on the side of the tub and recklessly poured water onto one another's heads, giggling as some splashed out onto the floor._

_Maria sighed. "Troy and Gabriella. Stop," she demanded sternly. "Let __**me**__ get your hair wet so you don't create more of a mess."_

_By the time Troy and Gabriella had wet hair, Lucille had returned. The two mothers then helped their kids shampoo, condition, and soap up. _

_"The watew's bworn and icky!" Gabriella shrieked. From all the mud that had been on her and Troy, the bath water had changed from perfectly clear to filthy._

_"Yeah, you'll have to get out," Maria said._

_After Troy and Gabriella's mothers helped them get out of the bathtub and let them dry themselves, they announced that it was time to get dressed._

_"No!" Troy and Gabriella both shouted, running out of the bathroom, down the stairs, and out the back door before their moms could stop them._

_"Look! Thewe's a pawty over thewe!" Troy exclaimed, pointing to Gabriella's neighbors-the neighbors that weren't his family, of course-who were having a barbeque. "Let's go!"_

_Gabriella ran to the backyard gate, unlatched it with little difficulty, and, Troy following closely behind her, rushed into the neighbor's open yard._

_"Oh my gosh!" Maria and Lucille, who had just discovered their kids had gone outside, gasped, embarassed, as they turned their heads toward the neighbor's yard where Troy and Gabriella were running around, shouting with pleasure, as the people at the barbeque were laughing hysterically._

_"Mommy!" Troy suddenly yelled as he skidded to a stop, noticing his mother was standing on the other side of the fence. "I went potty in the gwass!"_

_"Twoy went potty! Twoy went potty!" Gabriella giggled._

_Maria and Lucille, growing more angry by the second, marched over to the neighbor's yard, where they each grabbed their child, apologized with blushing faces to the neighbors, and carried Troy and Gabriella back into Gabriella's house. _

_"You were very naughty," Maria scolded. _

_"Me and Twoy wewe wunning outside naked!" Gabriella giggled._

_"I know you were, and it wasn't amusing. It was embarassing. No one wants to see naked little kids at their picnic," Maria said through clenched teeth. _

_"Especially when they go tinkle in their grass!" Lucille added, glaring at Troy. _

_"But I had to go!" Troy protested._

_"Well, you're a big boy. You use the potty to go tinkle."_

_"And for both of you," Maria began, "You need to wear clothes if you want to go outside. Big girls and boys wear clothes."_

_"We wewe wunning awond naked!" Gabriella exclaimed, giggling profusely. _

_"I know; you don't need to keep reminding me. Now come with us upstairs so you can get dressed."_

_"I don't wanna get dwessed!" Gabriella cried, pouting and stomping her feet. "I want to go outside and wun awound again! That was fun!"_

_"I wanna, too!" Troy agreed._

_"No, Troy," Lucille said. "You're coming upstairs with me, getting dressed, and then I'm taking you home."_

_Whining, Troy and Gabriella trudged upstairs with their mothers and walked into the bathroom. The entire time they were being assisted in getting dressed, they whimpered and cried, Troy begging to stay at Gabriella's house and Gabriella pleading with her mom to make Lucille let him stay. However, their efforts didn't do any good, for Troy still was made to go home._

Troy and Gabriella, now fourteen years old, had, obviously, matured a great deal, but still remained close. They would sleep over at one another's houses-a habit they had picked up at the age of eight-do homework together every day after school, and go to the pool with each other.

Troy, who used to be a little boy with terribly disheveled hair and crooked teeth, grew into a fine young man that possessed slightly tousled dirty blonde locks which fell into his handsome ocean-colored eyes, a fit upper body as the result of all the basketball he had played since he was six, and, after two years of braces, a gorgeous, perfectly white smile.

Gabriella, rather than being the toddler with untamed curls grazing her mid back, a straight figure, and a dirt-streaked face. had transformed beautifully into a young woman. She now possessed distinct curves, small, perfectly rounded breasts that had grown just a year and a half before, graceful curls that cascaded over her shoulders and ended at her upper back, and smooth, tanned legs.

The two teenagers were about ready to enter high school, something that both excited them and made them nervous. So for the first day, they resolved to meet one another in front of Troy's house so they could walk to the bus stop together.

After Gabriella got up, ready, and ate breakfast, she headed over to the house beside hers and rang the doorbell.

"Hey, Brie," Troy greeted, grabbing his backpack from the spot next to him on the floor and stepping outside. After giving Gabriella a 'hello' hug, he asked, "So, are you ready?"

"I...guess so." Gabriella shrugged nervously.

Troy began leading the way down his driveway, when the sound of Gabriella calling his name met his ears. "Yes?" he responded.

"Do I look okay? I mean, this is the first day of high school and...well, I don't know what other girls wear there. I just don't want to look like a misfit." Gabriella shuffled her feet as butterflies furiously fluttered in her stomach.

Troy surveyed Gabriella's knee-length denim shorts, orange short-sleeved babydoll top, and glossy white ballet flats. Her nearly flawless face was clear of any make-up, and her curls were brought into a low, loose ponytail which she had draped over her right shoulder. "You look fine."

"You sure?" Gabriella chewed on her lower lip.

"Positive. Now we'd better get going before the bus gets to the bus stop."

* * *

East High School. The place where Troy and Gabriella would spend the last four years of their school careers. The place where teenagers were bored out of their minds one second and having a blast the next. The home of the best high school basketball team in Albuquerque.

"So, we're here," Troy said as he climbed off the bus with Gabriella by his side. He paused for a moment in the school yard to take in his surroundings before continuing to the door. There was a stone fountain with an 'E' engraved on it set which was set into in the healthy green grass, a few benches on which some students sat, and a blossomed garden lining the building.

"It looks like a pretty nice place," Gabriella remarked.

"Yeah," Troy agreed. After a pause, he asked, "Do you think I should try out for the basketball team today? I was looking on the school website yesterday, and they're having try outs during free period."

"Troy, you love basketball," Gabriella responded as she walked through the school's glass doors. "I don't understand why you're asking that question."

Troy, following Gabriella, shrugged. "I don't know. It's just that I'm not sure if the coach and all the other older, more experienced players will accept me. And besides, Zeke Baylor-the guy from Lower Eastern Albuquerque Middle School-you know, the one I used to play against at games last year, he'll be coming here, and I'm not so sure if I want to be on the same team as him."

"How do you know he's gonna be trying out for basketball?"

"Because he's the kind of guy that always wants to be the star. And from the things I heard, basketball and baking are his obsessions, and he's not planning on quitting either one," Troy replied. "I mean, maybe if you try out for cheerleading I'll do basketball, but..."

"_Cheerleading?_" Gabriella repeated, incredulous. "Troy, I'm not the hyper, snobby type! What makes you think I would try out for cheerleading?" She laughed, her eyes sparkling.

Troy shrugged. "Because you would be supporting me, your best friend." He pointed to himself before continuing on hurriedly. "You don't have to, though. I'm just saying that it would be cool if we got to both do something at basketball games."

"Oh. Well, when are the try outs for cheerleading?"

"The school's site said that they're during free period, too. Why? You thinking of going?"

"Oh, I don't know. I mean, I've never done it before, so I can't say for sure whether or not I'd like it, but most cheerleaders are...well...just not the type of person I am. And my grades are also a concern. I'm afraid that if I do an activity like cheerleading, they'll drop."

"Well, it's your choice," Troy said. "Don't feel like I'm trying to force you into doing it."

"Alright. I won't."

Troy smiled. "So, what's your first class today? After homeroom, that is."

Gabriella pulled a crinkled paper from her large pale blue book bag and studied it for a moment before answering, "Algebra 1. What do you have?"

"Gym." Troy sighed. "I wish we could be in all the same classes."

"Me, too. But I guess we have to be separated at some point."

Troy nodded. "Yeah, I guess. Well anyway, we should probably start trying to find our lockers."

Gabriella nodded in agreement before the two friends went off to the locker-lined wall to look for their assigned lockers.

* * *

She had made the decision she had thought she would never make: she was trying out for cheerleading.

As she walked into the gym, Gabriella was surrounded by tall, skinny blondes dressed in shorts way too short for school and either sports bras or spaghetti strap camisoles. Those girls made her petite self feel very much out of place in her modest clothing, so Gabriella tried to slip around unnoticed so none of them would tease her.

"Okay!" A short, chubby woman with her hair pulled back into a high ponytail entered the gym, a clipboard in her hand and sneakers on her feet. "Let's see what you girls can do!"

The blondes all became silent, and Gabriella remained that way.

"Alright. To start, I would like each of you to do a cartwheel and a split."

Gabriella, unlike the other girls, spinned a perfect triple cartwheel, then went down into a full split. Even though she had never done cheerleading before, Troy had taught her to do cartwheels when they were nine, and she had become flexible enough to do splits from the ballet classes her mother had put her in during fifth grade.

"Good. Now, I'm going to teach you a simple routine, and I would like you all to do it. If you can succeed, you're in," the woman said.

"Sorry I'm late!" a tall, slightly chubby girl with curly brown locks which were tied back into a messy bun apologized as she rushed into the room and over to the rest of the girls. She found a place beside Gabriella and gave her a slight smile. "Hi. I'm Martha Cox. It's nice to see that I'm not the only one who isn't blonde here."

"Hi. I'm Gabriella Montez," Gabriella introduced, playing with her hair and shuffling her feet, only meeting Martha's eyes halfway.

The instructor woman began teaching the routine. When she was finished, the girls all tried to do it in groups of three.

"Okay. Thank you all. The list of who are now on the team will be posted on the school's bulletin board tomorrow morning. And by the way, I'm Coach Lane, and I'll be coaching you cheerleaders for the rest of the season, alright?"

The girls nodded in acknowledgement.

"Alright, well you may all go now. I'll see those of you who made it tomorrow during free period again. And if you don't wear sneakers and sweat pants to school, bring them."

* * *

Troy took the basketball in his hand and shot it straight into the basket.

"Excellent!" the basketball coach said in surprise.

Troy, a smile on his face, went to the bleachers and took a seat while the other guys attempted to shoot baskets. After Gabriella had told him she'd decided to give cheerleading a try, he'd made up his mind to do basketball.

When all the boys had finished shooting hoops, the coach asked them to dribble their balls as quickly as they could from one end of the room to the other.

_That's easy,_ Troy thought to himself, jumping from his seat and going over to the wall the other guys were lining up horizontally at. When the coach blew his whistle as a signal for them to begin, he raced to the other side of the gym, completing the task before anyone else.

"Good job, guys," the coach complimented. "Now, we're all done for today. There will be a list of who all made the team posted on the bulletin board tomorrow. And for those of you that did, we'll be holding a practice during free period in this gym." There were two gyms in the school, so the basketball coach needed to specify which one the practice was in to avoid confusion amongst the players.

As Troy exited the gym, he caught up with Gabriella, who was rounding the corner a couple feet away from him.

"Hey," Gabriella greeted.

"Hey," Troy returned. "How were try outs?"

"Good," Gabriella smiled. "How were yours?"

"Great! I just hope I made the team, though."

"I'm sure you will. I can't imagine you not making it."

"Yeah, I guess," Troy shrugged. "Now let's go to lunch; I'm hungry."

* * *

**I'd like to thank VampxLover for helping me get this story started! I hope you all enjoyed. And tips for my writing are much appreciated, just no flames! And yes, the flashback was random. I just thought it would be something funny to put in. LOL. **

**Please review!**


	2. Sleepover

The first week of school sped by. Troy had made the basketball team and Gabriella the cheerleading one, so they'd been kept busy with practices along with, of course, the thick stacks of homework that came with high school. Because of all this, it had been for nearly five straight days that they hadn't been able to do something they wanted, so when Friday arrived, they decided that Gabriella would sleep over at Troy's house.

"Brie!" Troy exclaimed as Gabriella stepped through the doorway of his house at exactly seven o' clock. "I'm so happy you're here!" He wrapped his arms around her in a friendly hug. "I planned a bunch of things for us to do. I got some movies ready, pulled out old photo albums of us when we were little-I thought the pictures would give us a good laugh-and persuaded my mom to buy some ice cream along with ice cream cones."

"It sounds like it's gonna be a great night," Gabriella smiled as she squeezed Troy in return.

"So, what do you wanna do first?" Troy asked.

"How about we look at pictures?" Gabriella suggested.

"Alright."

"Wanna sit on the sofa?" Troy asked after grabbing an album from the box that was situated against the wall.

"Sure," Gabriella answered, taking a seat on Troy's couch. Once Troy was beside her, the two began paging through the photo album.

"Hi, Gabriella!"

Gabriella turned her head to see Troy's mother standing near the sofa. "Hi, Mrs. Bolton."

"Troy," Lucille began, "I'm gonna make some brownies now so if you want some, they'll be ready in about forty-five minutes."

"Okay," Troy acknowledged.

When Lucille left for the kitchen, Gabriella and Troy pulled their attention back to the pictures they were looking at. The page they were currently on contained all bath photos, for their moms had thought the two toddlers playing in the tub were adorable.

"I remember that every Saturday evening, either I would come over to your house or you would come over to mine and we'd play for about half an hour, then take a very long bath," Gabriella said.

"I know. We would stay in the tub until our moms got sick of supervising us."

"Or until you would pee."

"I never peed in the bathtub, Brie!" Troy protested, looking at Gabriella with a false expression of annoyance.

"Yes, you did! It happened um...I don't know...maybe about ten or fifteen times. You hated using the toilet. Even after you were supposed to be fully potty trained, you still had an endless amount of accidents in both the tub and in your pants," Gabriella giggled.

"Well, look who's talking! You were the one that threw up all over me that one time! That's worse than having accidents!" As Troy spoke, he turned the page to reveal four more photos, one of them being of him with vomit splattered across his lap and a disgusted look on his face.

_"Twoy, I don't feel good. I'm going to lay down." Three-year-old Gabriella went into her room and laid down on her bed, which was covered by a Disney Princess comforter. _

_"You need the covews on you," Troy said, following Gabriella and picking up a spare blanket that was folded up and placed at the foot of his friend's bed. He carefully laid it over her. "Now I need to kiss youw fowehead and see if you'we hot. That's what my mommy does to me." Troy lightly touched his lips to Gabriella's forehead. "You feel okay."_

_"Can you get my mommy?" Gabriella asked sweetly._

_"No. I'm gonna get a chaiw to sit on." Troy walked over to the pink chair and desk set placed in the corner of Gabriella's room and dragged the seat from it over to her bed._

_Just as Troy sat down, Gabriella leaned over the side of her bed and, not realizing her mouth was directly over Troy, threw up right on his lap._

"But that was only once! You peed in the tub multiple times!" Gabriella said.

Troy put the photo album aside and playfully shoved Gabriella into the arm of the sofa. He then took his hands and began tickling her profusely, causing loud giggles to emanate from her lips.

"Troy! Stop!" Gabriella begged as tears of laughter dripped out of her eyes.

"No! Never!" Troy refused, continuing to run his fingers across his friend's sensitive stomach. However, the ticking became too fierce and resulted in Gabriella slipping off the sofa and skidding on the floor.

"Ow," Gabriella whined as the shaggy carpet burned her knee. Switching into a better position, she began to examine it. "Troy, it's bleeding a little bit!" she exclaimed.

"What's going on?" Lucille questioned as she rushed out from the kitchen upon hearing the commotion.

"Troy was tickling me, I fell off the couch, and got a carpet burn on my knee," Gabriella explained, gingerly touching the large red mark on her skin. "And it's bleeding slightly."

"Why don't you go up and get a Band-Aid while I get you some ice to put on it?" Lucille suggested before turning toward her son. "And Troy, be a little more careful next time, please. I don't want to be sending Gabriella home with broken arms and legs."

"Okay," Troy said as he rose from his seat and followed Gabriella upstairs to the bathroom. After grabbing a bottle of hydrogen peroxide from the cabinet that rested below the sink, he took a cotton ball and poured some of the clear liquid onto it. "Here you go. Clean it out real good." He handed the cotton ball to his friend. "I'll get you a bandage. And I'm really sorry for making you get hurt. You okay?"

"Yeah," Gabriella replied. "I'm fine." When she was finished bandaging her wound, she went back downstairs with Troy.

"There's some brownie batter here if you two want it," Lucille announced.

Troy and Gabriella raced into the kitchen, grabbed spoons from the silverware drawer, and eagerly dug into the nearly empty bowl of thick, leftover chocolaty substance like two little children going crazy over an unguarded cookie jar.

Lucille laughed. "You know, sometimes you two don't act your age."

"Thanks, Mom," Troy responded, brownie batter spilling out of his full mouth.

Gabriella giggled. "Ew, Troy! Wipe your mouth! That's disgusting!"

Troy took the back of his hand and swiped it across his mouth. "Better?"

"Why did you use your hand? There's paper towels right in front of you!"

Before Troy and Gabriella knew it, Lucille had a camera in her hand and was taking a picture that would most likely end up in a future photo album.

"Mom!" Troy groaned. "Do you really have to remember us eating brownie batter?"

"Troy, it'll just be something that'll go in our photo albums. I love having memories of you two," Lucille answered.

Troy rolled his eyes as he snatched a paper towel and wiped his face. "I'm done. What about you, Brie?"

"All finished," Gabriella said.

"Okay. So, do you wanna finish looking at pictures?"

"Sure; let's go."

Once Troy was sitting down on the sofa, Gabriella, giggling, took a seat right in his lap and leaned her head against his firm chest.

"Hey, why do you have to sit here?" Troy asked playfully as he wrapped his arms about Gabriella in a brief hug. "There's three spots on this couch! Find one of your own!" He gently pushed his friend off him.

Gabriella climbed back onto Troy. "No! I want to sit here!" She determinedly hung onto his neck and pressed her body into his.

Troy stood up as he lifted Gabriella into his arms, then, laughing, carried her out back and in reply to her pleads, placed her on the ground again. The second she was let free, she began to run, so he chased her around the yard until he caught her in his arms and took her to the above-ground pool his parents had gotten installed that August.

"Troy! Not the pool!" Gabriella shouted. However, Troy didn't both to heed her words, for her gently tossed her into the water.

"Troy Bolton!" Gabriella scolded playfully as she emerged from the chlorine-bathed liquid she was surrounded by. Climbing out of the it, she looked down at her dripping self. "I'm soaked!" she exclaimed.

"Sorry," Troy apologized, instantly regretting what he had done. Even though she wasn't angry, he still felt bad just looking at her with large droplets of water running down her arms and legs. "How about we go up to my room and get our pajamas on?"

"Sounds good." Gabriella tagged after Troy as he went inside, grabbed her overnight bag from the sofa, then allowed him to lead her upstairs, where he first took a towel from the bathroom for her to dry off with, then brought her into his room, where he shut the door for privacy.

Gabriella looked through her bag until she came across her pajamas. After taking them out, she began getting into them, drying off as she did so. Since she and Troy had grown up seeing one another's bodies, they were more than comfortable changing in front of each other, so she didn't mind that he was putting his pajamas on in the same room at the same time as her.

"So," Troy began as he headed over to his closet to grab the pair of basketball shorts and old t-shirt he used to sleep in. "How's cheerleading going?"

"Good," Gabriella replied as she slipped her pajama tank top over her head. "Only I hate having to get changed in front of the other cheerleaders. It makes me really uncomfortable."

"It's not that bad, is it? You keep your underwear on-well, the guys in the locker rooms for basketball do, anyway-and you're all girls. I mean, I catch glimpses of your private bits sometimes while we're getting dressed together and you don't seem to mind that."

"Well, _I_ keep my underwear on. Most of the other girls put on sports bras. I just could never do that, though; I would die of embarrassment. And I know we're all girls, but I've heard some of the cheerleaders make comments about each other's bodies, and I'm afraid one of them will say something to me. The reasons I'm so comfortable with _you_ seeing me naked is that we've gotten dressed and undressed in front of one another for over ten years now, you're my best and only friend, and I know you would never make fun of me."

"If you're as worried as you sound, you could ask to change in the bathroom," Troy suggested. "That way, no one would have to see you."

"Maybe I'll do that on Monday."

"Okay! Well, do you wanna go get some ice cream, then finally finish looking at pictures?"

"Sure!"

Troy and Gabriella exited Troy's room and rushed downstairs. After piling large sugar cones high with cookies and cream ice cream, they went over to the sofa, plopped down on it, and began eating while Troy grabbed the photo album and opened it up to the page they were on.

"Oh, I remember this," Gabriella said, pointing to a picture of her when she was four years old dressed in a Cinderella dress-up gown and pretend glass slippers while Troy was standing next to her, kissing her cheek.

_"Let's play pwincess and pwince!" Gabriella shouted, jumping up and down._

_"I don't know how to play, but alrwight," Troy shrugged._

_Gabriella put her Cinderella gown on along with the glass slippers and told Troy to grab a brown stick horse that was in the corner of the room. Once he was pretending to ride it, she climbed up onto her bed and yelled, "Help! Pwince! Help! I'm twapped! I'm stuck! Help me!"_

_Troy rode the stick horse over to Gabriella's bed, climbed off of it, took Gabriella's hand, and helped her off her bed. "I saved you. Now what?" he asked, thoroughly nonplussed about the game he was playing._

_"Now I tell you that you awe handsome and you have to kiss me," Gabriella replied._

_Troy touched his lips to his friend's cheek. "I love you, Pwincess Bwie."_

_"I love you, too, Pwince Twoy." _

_Troy grabbed a plastic dress-up ring that was resting at the foot of Gabriella's bed and slid it onto her finger-her right middle finger, that is. "Hewe's youw wing!"_

_Gabriella tossed her arms about Troy, who gladly returned her hug. "We'we mawied now!"_

"Yeah, so do I," Troy agreed.

The next page consisted of more pictures of Troy and Gabriella playing in the bathtub, so Troy skipped those, as he and Gabriella had already looked at bath pictures, and didn't feel like seeing more. The page after that contained photos of the two napping side by side on Troy's bed. Troy went by those, also.

"This album is getting a little boring," Gabriella remarked.

"Yeah; it is. Wanna watch some home movies instead?"

"Sure."

Troy put the photo album back in its place, then drew a video from the box. "I don't know what's on this one, but we can find out." He shrugged before inserting the object into the VCR/DVD player and pushing the 'play' button.

"Oh my gosh, no," Gabriella groaned, covering her face in embarrassment as a taping of the time she and Troy had run naked through the neighbors' yard came onto the TV screen. The neighbors had taped it while it was happening, then gave a copy to both Troy's family and Gabriella's in case they wanted to watch it for laughs.

"So embarrassing," Troy commented. "Let's skip this." He took the remote that was lying beside him and hit the fast forward button. However, when he got past that section of the movie, he and Gabriella found that the one after it was another moment they would rather not remember, for in it, they were playing tag naked around Troy's house, while their mothers were trying to get them to go upstairs and get dressed.

"We really didn't like clothes when we were little," Gabriella stated.

"I know. I just wish we realized that running around naked everywhere would create terribly embarrassing memories when we got older," Troy said.

"Yeah. But I guess we were toddlers, then, and I think we both just learned to undress ourselves without needing our moms to help unzip zippers and unfasten buttons, so I guess we just liked taking our clothes off since we could do it alone. Though I agree that it is awfully embarrassing now."

"Well, I think I'm going to turn this movie off since it doesn't seem to have anything good in it." Troy slid off the sofa, ejected the video, and put it back where it belonged. "I wish we could burn it."

"Yeah, that would be cool. Then we wouldn't ever need to be reminded of those times again. I don't even know what would make our parents and neighbors tape stuff like that," Gabriella said.

"Me, neither. I think they just thought they could use it to torture us when we got older."

"The neighbors are worse than our parents, though. I hear them talking and laughing about that terrible day at every barbeque they have and I hate that they sometimes still tease us about it. It's _really_ embarrassing."

"I know. Once I was going to your house and the lady next door to you said, 'I remember when you didn't know how to put clothes on or stay in your own yard.' Then she started laughing, and I just ignored her the entire time." Troy shrugged.

"Yeah, my neighbors do get irritating like that. But it's mostly the woman. Just yesterday she said to me, 'You know, I'm glad you learned to put clothes on! I thought you were going to grow up to be immodest!' I really hated it," Gabriella told Troy. "I mean, she should just let it go. Why would we, as fourteen year olds, run around naked? And what's the point of her reminding us of something that happened over ten years ago?"

"I don't know," Troy sighed.

"Oh, and by the way, can I eat dinner here tomorrow evening?" Gabriella asked. "My parents invited my neighbors over for grill-made hamburgers and hot dogs. And I _really_ don't want to hear them tease me about what happened when I was a toddler."

"Sure. Oh, and bring your bathing suit. We can go swimming afterward." Troy could give Gabriella an answer without asking his parents because they thought of Gabriella as a part of the family-just like Gabriella's family thought of Troy that way-so they didn't care when she ate dinner over at their place.

"Okay! Thank you so much!" Gabriella flung her arms around Troy.

Troy laughed softly as he hugged his friend in return. "You're welcome. I know how bad those people are, so I would feel horrible if you had to eat dinner with them."

"Yeah. And every time they come over, they _have_ to watch that video of us running around naked at their barbeque. It's so embarrassing. I'm about ready to ruin that tape so no one can ever see it again."

"I can't believe your parents are friends with them. They're total jerks."

"Well, my mom became friendly with the lady next door when we first moved in because she had a son-you know, the one who started college this year-and she liked to ask her questions about parenting. Then my dad met the guy there soon afterward, and they would always start coming over. I know they're jerks, but my parents just seem to think they're wonderful people. And when the neighbors talk about that incident from when we were toddlers, they just laugh along with them. Sometimes I just can't take it!"

"Well, my parents don't like them, so, thankfully, they've never come over here and most likely never will."

"I just don't see what my mom and dad see in them that makes them want to have them over and stuff," Gabriella said.

Troy shrugged. "I don't know. My parents once had annoying friends, too, and eventually, they stopped keeping in touch with them. Maybe the same thing will happen to your mom and dad."

"I sure hope so."

After a short pause, Troy asked, "Hey, wanna see if you can spend the night tomorrow, too? Just in case those people are at your house real late. Besides, we like swimming after dark, remember? It's fun, and we won't be able to do it if you have to go home after dinner's over. "

"Sure! I'll call my parents now to ask. They should still be awake." Gabriella rose from her seat and walked over to the phone that was on the wall in Troy's dining room. After dialing her familiar number, she waited for someone to pick up.

"Hello?" David, Gabriella's father, said.

"Hi. It's me, Gabriella. I was just wondering if I could stay another night at Troy's house."

"I guess you could. I mean, the Hetherman's are coming over tomorrow night, but if you don't want to see them, do whatever you want," David replied.

"Okay. I'll stop over now and get extra things. Bye."

"Bye."

After Gabriella hung up, she quickly ran to her house, grabbed another change of clothes and her bathing suit, then returned to Troy's place and took the things up to his room with her other stuff.

"So, you wanna watch a movie?" Troy inquired when Gabriella was sitting beside him.

"Sure."

"What do you wanna watch?"

Gabriella, giggling, ran to Troy's DVD drawer, which was located in the TV stand, and pulled out _Barney's Christmas._ "This." Troy and Gabriella enjoyed watching babyish movies before one that really interested them, as they thought it gave them a good laugh along with the chance to act like little kids again.

After Troy put in the DVD, the theme music began, causing Troy and Gabriella to loudly sing along.

"What's going on?" Troy's father, Jack, sleepily questioned as he walked downstairs. Troy and Gabriella's singing had woken him up.

"We're watching Barney!" Troy announced.

"Oh, well keep it down." Troy's parents knew that their son and his best friend watched movies for little children, so they never questioned the reason why they watched what they watched.

"Alright."

When Jack had disappeared, Troy said, "Watch my Barney imitation!" He rose from the sofa and began to imitate the purple dinosaur. "Hey kids! I'm Barney!"

"Barney!" Gabriella exclaimed in a falsely enthusiastic voice, springing from her spot and hugging Troy like the little children on TV had just hugged Barney.

Throughout the entire movie, Troy and Gabriella humorously imitated the actions the kids, Barney, BJ, and Baby Bop were doing on the TV. So, as you can probably imagine, by the time the ending credits rolled through, the two teenagers were lying on the ground, tears of laughter streaming from their eyes as they uncontrollably laughed.

"Troy, Gabriella, this is the second time I'm telling you this and I expect you to listen: stop being so loud!" Jack scolded as he came downstairs to see the sight of the two freshman hysterically laughing while rolling around on the floor. "By the way, what's so funny?"

When Troy and Gabriella didn't respond after a minute, Jack rolled his eyes and headed back to his room.

"I'm tired," Gabriella said finally as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Do you wanna go to bed? We can pick a serious movie to watch at our sleepover tomorrow."

"Bed sounds good." However, Gabriella had a feeling that she and Troy were just going to lie down and talk for a while before actually going to sleep, as it was something that happened every time she stayed the night.

"Alright." Troy put the DVD away, then went with Gabriella into the upstairs bathroom, where the both brushed their teeth and washed their faces.

"I'll beat you!" Gabriella announced as she sprinted toward Troy's room and plopped down on his bed before getting comfortable underneath the covers.

Troy, smiling in amusement, entered his room, closing the door behind him. He then laid beside Gabriella, pulling the blankets up to his chin. Sharing a bed was normal for the two, as they had been doing it since they had their first sleepover. Their parents even trusted them to have the door closed while they were sleeping, as they knew they wouldn't do anything they weren't supposed to.

Gabriella brought her gaze to Troy and asked sweetly, "Is it okay if I cuddle with you?" Some nights, Troy and Gabriella cuddled-as friends, of course-while on others, one of them wasn't in the mood for it, so they slept on opposite sides of the queen-sized bed.

"Go ahead, Brie," Troy replied.

Gabriella drew her body up to Troy's and rested her head on his firm chest as she relished the feeling of his arms wrapping tightly around her. Her current position was the one she liked to sleep in most.

Troy temporarily took an arm away from Gabriella so he could turn his bedside light out. "I'm a little tired to talk tonight," he said.

"Me, too," Gabriella agreed with a yawn. "School's been exhausting this week."

"Yeah, well, good night." Troy touched his lips to Gabriella's forehead, something he always did before they went to bed.

"Good night." Gabriella lifted her head to return Troy's gesture, then snuggled back against him, closed her eyes, and allowed herself to drift off into a peaceful sleep.

Troy, who had yet to fall asleep after half an hour of being in bed, gazed at the sleeping girl nestled against him and cautiously began stroking her curls slowly so as not to wake her. _She's looks so innocent and cute when she's asleep,_ he told himself as a smile, one that wouldn't go away-even in his sleep-appeared on his lips.

* * *

**Alright; since you guys were AWESOME and gave me 12 reviews for my first chapter and I got new readers (I was expecting about 5 reviews all from people who have me on author alert) I typed this as fast as I could! I hope you enjoyed it!**

**And I would like to thank Zac is my. Life for helping me with like...I don't know...probably half this chapter! I feel like I was asking her about every little detail I was putting in here! So thanks! Especially since you put up with me while I was having problems with my deleted stories! I really appreciate it! You're totally awesome!**

**So, how are you liking this so far? I personally LOVE it! I hope I didn't make Troy and Gabriella seem to much like a couple, but just to remind you, they're super close to one another. **

**Please REVIEW:) Just no flames! If you don't like it, there's the little x in the corner you may click on. However, consecutive criticism and any ideas for this story you have are more than welcome! **


	3. Time Together

When Troy and Gabriella awoke the next morning, they rushed downstairs to eat their breakfast of pancakes and sausage, then went back into Troy's room to change into their bathing suits.

"You ready?" Troy asked as he finished pulling on his swimsuit.

"Yeah," Gabriella, who was untwisting the straps of her medium violet one piece, replied as she followed Troy downstairs and out the back door.

"I'm gonna beat you to the pool!" Troy shouted as he ran through the soft, healthy green grass and jumped into the deepest end of his pool, which was five feet.

Gabriella, giggling furiously, ran to the water and, like Troy, jumped into it, playfully smacking Troy on the head as she rose from beneath the bluish liquid surrounding her. "Got you!" she announced.

"Hey, what was that for?" Troy demanded teasingly, pretending to be angry with his friend.

Gabriella responded by grabbing a beach ball that was resting on the side of the pool and throwing it forcefully in Troy's face.

"What was that for?" Troy repeated, taking the ball and hitting Gabriella's arm with it.

Gabriella, giggling, as she knew she and Troy were just playing rather than fighting, went underwater with the ball in her hand, then smacked it against Troy's leg before coming back up. "Got you again, Troy!" she shouted.

Troy threw the beach ball at Gabriella's shoulder. However, he missed is target, instead causing the tossed object to fly out of his yard, over Gabriella's, and into the Hetherman's.

"Oh, great," Troy groaned.

"You gonna get that?" Gabriella inquired.

"Not unless you'll come with me," Troy replied, looking pleading at his best friend.

Gabriella, sighing, said, "I guess I'll come."

The two teenagers climbed out of the pool and walked out of Troy's yard and into the Hetherman's, where the ball was resting against the fence between their yard and Gabriella's. As soon as Troy quickly grabbed it, he and Gabriella ran as fast as they could back to Troy's property.

"Alright, I'm gonna get you now!" Troy exclaimed, chasing Gabriella back into the pool.

Giggling, Gabriella surrendered and plunged into the water, grabbing the ball from Troy as she did so. Once he got in along with her, she used it to push his head underwater. However, as she was doing that, the ball popped with a loud sound.

"Brie!" Troy whined playfully when he emerged from under water. "You broke it!"

A genuinely guilty look crossed Gabriella's face. "I'm sorry, Troy." She shifted her gaze from Troy's to down below her. "I didn't mean to..."

"I'm not mad," Troy assured his friend, drawing her into a friendly embrace. "It's fine. I can buy another one for five dollars or less somewhere. It's not like you broke something that was really expensive."

Gabriella, somewhat relieved, clung to Troy in return. "Thanks for understanding," she smiled.

"You're welcome. Now, how about we clean up all these beach ball pieces, then go inside, take showers, and get changed into normal clothes?" Troy suggested, still holding on to Gabriella. "Does that sound good?"

Gabriella nodded and slowly pulled away from Troy. The two then began picking out all the thin, plastic scraps that once formed a ball, then climbed out of the pool with them in hand and threw them into the trash can that was propped up against the house. When that was all finished, they went inside, Gabriella going to the main bathroom and Troy heading toward the small one in his room.

Once Troy and Gabriella washed up, they wrapped towels around themselves and both walked into Troy's room at the same time.

"Wow, that was perfect timing," Troy observed.

"Yeah," Gabriella said with a smile as she closed the door so they could have privacy to get dressed. She then wandered over to Troy's closet, where she took one of his t-shirts and a pair of his shorts before starting to pull them on.

"Brie, what are you doing?" Troy inquired, a puzzled look coming across his face as he noticed what his friend was putting on.

Gabriella looked at Troy with an equally nonplussed expression. "Why are you staring? I...I don't mind if you catch glimpses of my body, but I would rather you not stare."

"I was trying to figure out why you were putting my clothes on," Troy explained guiltily as he grabbed some shorts and began to slide them on. "I'm sorry; I guess I didn't realize what I was doing."

"Your clothes are comfortable," Gabriella responded with a shrug. "And I wore them once before when I forgot to bring pajamas to your house for a sleepover, remember? You gave me some of your things to sleep in that time." She paused before adding hurriedly, "But I'll take them off if you want."

"No, no, no," Troy said quickly. "You can wear them. I just didn't think you would do this since you've never worn my things except for that one time. And that was maybe...I don't know...six months ago?"

"Probably."

"And I'm sorry for disrespecting your privacy," Troy apologized. "I should've just asked you what you were doing right away rather than staring and waiting until you said something. Would a hug make it any better?"

Gabriella nodded slowly before rushing into Troy's arms. "I forgive you. Just next time, try to be a little more careful, because you staring at me really was making me a little uncomfortable. Like I said, I don't mind you seeing me naked here and there, but I didn't really care for you purposely looking."

"I know. I shouldn't have done that. I would feel uncomfortable, too, if you were keeping your eyes on me while I was getting dressed," Troy said, taking his fingers to stroke Gabriella's hair with. "And again-I'm sorry, Brie." He leaned down to softly kiss her forehead.

Gabriella eagerly cuddled herself into Troy, taking in the feeling of the delicate skin of her cheek resting against his chest which was bared, as he had yet to put a shirt on.

"It's okay," Gabriella assured, holding onto Troy tighter. "I'll be your best friend no matter what happens."

"Thanks. That's always nice to hear," Troy said with a smile. After pausing for a moment, he suggested, "How about we go to the park and play some basketball for a little while? Then, we can come home and get some of that ice cream we were eating last night."

"Sounds great!" Gabriella agreed. "But could we just wait a little to go? I just got into comfy clothes to relax in."

"Sure, we don't have to go right this second," Troy replied. "What do you want to do until we leave?"

Gabriella broke apart from Troy and sprinted to his bed, getting under the covers the second she reached it and patting the empty space beside her. "Cuddle," she answered.

"Alright." Troy opened the door to his room so his parents could see what was going on, as if they couldn't, they would question the door being shut during the day. He then climbed into bed beside his friend and pulled the covers over him before wrapping his arms around her and kissing her forehead. "What made you wanna do this?"

"I just wanted to get comfy with my best friend," Gabriella said, resting her cheek on Troy's chest and pressing against him. "And I'm sleepy." She yawned.

"Yeah, me, too," Troy murmured as he began running his fingers through Gabriella's damp curls. "I just didn't want to say anything since I didn't know you were sleepy, and sleeping would be no fun for you if you weren't tired." After a pause he asked, "So, do you think anyone's going to ask you to homecoming?" Friday at school, Troy and Gabriella had found out there was to be a homecoming dance in a month.

"No, not really. Are you going to ask anyone?"

"Yeah," Troy answered.

Gabriella felt a sudden rush of jealously flood through her. Even though she and Troy weren't a couple, she couldn't help but feel that any girl he dated would get in the way of their friendship, as Troy probably wouldn't hang out with her as much if he had a girlfriend. "Who?"

"You. I was thinking we could go together-as friends, of course-then, afterward, come back to my place, change into pajamas, and spend the rest of the night watching movies, eating popcorn, and maybe sleeping-if we get tired," Troy answered.

A wave of relief washed through Gabriella's body as a giggle escaped from her lips. "I think we _are _gonna be sleepy after being at a dance."

"Troy?" Lucille called softly as she peeked into her son's room. When she noticed that he was lying down with Gabriella, she asked, "Are you two tired?"

"Yeah," Troy replied. "We kind of woke up a little early this morning, and we want to rest up so we can play some basketball at the park in a little while."

"Okay. Well anyway, I just wanted to ask you why there's scraps of our beach ball in the trash. Did it pop?" Lucille said, sounding curious rather than angry.

"Yeah, Brie popped it on my head," Troy replied. "She was trying to shove me underwater, and all of a sudden, it just exploded. It was pretty funny, though, now that I think about it." He laughed.

"Oh, alright." Lucille began laughing, also. "Well, that's all I wanted to know. I'll leave you two alone now." She walked away from her son's room.

Troy looked at Gabriella, about to tell her something, before realizing she was fast asleep. So, placing one last kiss onto her forehead, he, too, closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift off.

* * *

Two hours later, Troy and Gabriella were on the basketball court at the park. Before they'd left the house, Troy had put a t-shirt on, while Gabriella had gotten out of Troy's clothes, replacing them with the comfortable grey exercise shorts and a crimson tank top she had in her overnight bag.

"You've gotta work on your shooting," Troy said, panting, as he wiped the sweat off his forehead and jogged over to the water bottle he'd brought along with him. Their game had just finished, and Troy had won by twenty points.

"I'm short," Gabriella defended, a false expression of annoyance crossing her face. "I can't reach as high up as you can, so I have a longer distance I have to throw the ball."

Troy, putting the cap back on his water bottle and tossing it into the grass beside the basketball court, walked over to his friend and enveloped her in his arms. "I know you're short. But remember-I was once your height, too, and I could still get the ball in." He tapped her nose playfully. "You're just making excuses for yourself."

"Am not!" Gabriella pretended to feel offended. "And I demand a rematch!"

"Brie, I'm drowning in sweat. I can't play anymore!" Troy responded, pulling away from Gabriella and grabbing his basketball and water. "All I want to do is go home, sit in the living room, and eat some ice cream."

"Alright," Gabriela agreed, grabbing her water and following Troy out the park exit and back to his house.

"I'll be back in a sec," Troy said as he dropped his water and basketball in the corner of the living room and darted off toward the kitchen. Not long after that, he reappeared again, a large bowl of ice cream and two spoons in his hands. "You don't mind sharing a bowl with me, do you?" he asked Gabriella.

"Not at all. If you remember clearly, we used to share popsicles when we were younger," Gabriella answered.

_Seven-year-old Troy was sitting on his porch, sucking on a strawberry-flavored popsicle, when Gabriella ran out of the just parked car in her driveway and darted over to him. "Troy!" she yelled, plopping down beside him and tossing her arms about his neck._

_"Hi, Brie!" Troy greeted, hugging Gabriella in return. "Do you want some of my popsicle?"_

_"Sure."_

_Troy held out his snack for Gabriella, who took it from him and began sucking on it. "This is good!"_

_"I know. Now can I have it back? I don't want you to eat all of it." Troy held out his small hand, waiting for the popsicle to be placed in it._

_"Yeah, you can," Gabriella answered as she removed the popsicle from her mouth and handed it back to Troy. "And thanks for letting me have some of it. You're a great friend."_

_"You're welcome," Troy said before popping the frozen snack back into his mouth._

"Yeah, I remember that," Troy responded while taking a seat on the sofa.

Gabriella curled up next to Troy and took one of the spoons from him. They then both began eating the ice cream, which was firmly packed into the bowl that now rested in the small space between them.

"When we're done with this, I wanna put your clothes back on," said Gabriella. "They were so comfy."

"Alright," Troy said, "But you're going alone because I don't feel like getting upstairs and into my room just so you can change because you're not happy with the outfits that are yours."

Gabriella let out a giggle. "I'm happy with my clothes. It's just that yours are a lot more comfortable since they're sort of too big for me." She dumped a large spoonful of ice cream into her mouth.

"You're just crazy," Troy told his friend playfully.

"I know I am."

* * *

**Well, this isn't my favorite chapter exactly, but it's a chapter. LOL. I know I took long to type such a short chapter, but I was really busy this week. Sorry if I disappointed you guys! I promise the next one will be better (and have more action). And thanks to Zac in my. Life and VampxLover for helping me!**

**Please review:)**


	4. Not the Same

Gabriella arrived at Troy's door a Monday morning four weeks after their sleepover wearing a fitted red v-neck t-shirt with a half-zipped red and ivory jacket over it, white jeans, and a red and white bangle bracelet. Her hair was straightened and tied into two ponytails using crimson ribbons, and her glossy ballet flats were white. Even her nails-on both her fingers and toes-were manicured with ruby and white polishes. She had heard about spirit week at school-which ended with the homecoming game, then the dance-and since she was a cheerleader, decided she'd better join in with the others and wear school colors. At first, she thought it was going to be a pain in the butt to have to find things in red and white, but then she discovered all the fun clothes and accessories she had hidden away in her closet and drawers and spent most of her Sunday piecing them together creatively.

"Hey, Brie," Troy greeted as he swung the front door open and grabbed his backpack. "I see you're all ready for spirit week." He gave her a brief hug before grabbing her hand and heading out the door with her. "I am, too." With his free hand, he indicated the white East High sweatshirt, red East High sweatpants he sometimes wore during basketball practice, and his crimson and ivory sneakers. "Even my boxers are red today."

Gabriella giggled. "Troy, did I really need to know that?"

"Yup," Troy replied with a wide grin. "And you should also know that I brought a red marker to draw on your face with. I'll start that once we get to the bus stop."

"How do you know I even _want_ my face drawn on?" Gabriella asked.

"Because it's spirit week. And you want our homeroom to get the award for having the most school spirit, don't you?" Troy gave his friend's hand a small squeeze, hoping it would urge her to say 'yes' in reply to his question.

"Sure I do, but do you really think drawing on my face is necessary?" said Gabriella as she turned her chocolate eyes toward Troy's cerulean ones.

"Yeah." Troy shrugged as he and Gabriella arrived at the bus stop. Letting go of her hand, he slid his backpack off and rummaged through its contents until he came across a red marker. "Alright, I'm gonna draw a wildcat on your cheek."

"Don't make it look childish," Gabriella warned firmly. The last thing she wanted to do was walk around school with a stick figure lion printed on her face.

"I won't." Troy uncapped his marker and carefully began drawing the school's wildcat logo on his friend's left cheek. It turned out fairly well, and looked even better once he had colored it in. "Finished. Now, is it alright if I write 'EHS' on your forehead?"

"My forehead? No. But you can do it on my other cheek."

"Alright." Troy wrote the initials of the school on Gabriella's skin. "Can I do anything else to you or would you like me to be done?"

"I would sort of like you to be done," Gabriella replied as a large yellow vehicle parked in front of them. "And besides, the bus is here."

Troy snapped the lid back onto his marker, popped it back into his backpack, then walked onto the bus with his friend and followed her to the seat they had always sat in ever since their first day of high school.

"I can't wait until we get to school so I can go in the bathroom and see what my face looks like now," Gabriella smiled as she gently bounced up and down in her spot.

"It looks awesome, trust me," Troy assured, playfully tugging on one of his friend's ponytails. "Hey," he began after a slight pause, "May I ask how your curls disappeared this morning?"

"I straightened my hair," Gabriella explained with a small giggle.

"Oh. Why? What was wrong with it being curly? I liked it that way."

Gabriella shrugged. "Nothing was wrong with it. It's just that I've had curly hair my whole life and I just felt like having a change. Seeing the same thing every day gets boring, right? And besides, most of the cheerleaders have straight hair, and all the basketball players seem to like them. I thought that maybe if I made my hair straight, some guys would pay attention to me. I mean, I'm too shy to go up to them and start a conversation, but if they know I'm a cheerleader that fits in with all the others, maybe they'll look at me a little more."

Troy couldn't say anything. All he was able to do was look away from his friend's chocolate eyes, which he just happened to notice were surrounded by heavy eye shadow, dark eye liner, and mascara. "So you want a boyfriend?" Troy ventured after a moment of awkwardness.

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah. I think it's about time. All the other cheerleaders have them-even Martha, and she, like me, isn't blonde-so why shouldn't I?"

"Brie, I hope you realize that for one, you shouldn't be in a rush to date, even when everyone else you know is, and for two, you don't need all that make-up to look nice," Troy said, cautiously covering his friend's hand with his own.

"But I'm like an outcast of all the cheerleaders," Gabriella protested quietly as she stared down at her lap. "None of them talk to me anymore-not even Martha. They're all together, talking about what they did over the weekend with their boyfriends, or what they got as gifts from them...and I can't join in any of that because no guys take notice of me."

"I do," Troy pointed out.

Before Gabriella could open her mouth to reply, the bus came to a halt in front of the school. "We'll talk about this later," she whispered in her friend's ear.

* * *

At lunch, Troy and Gabriella were sitting at a table alone-as always. It was a bit disappointing sometimes, as it made them feel like the least liked people in school, but that day, they were grateful for it since it meant they could finish the little talk they were having on the bus.

"Troy, you don't look at me in a romantic way," Gabriella was saying. "You only see me as a friend."

_No, I don't._ Those words were on the tip of Troy's tongue, yet he held them in, instead responding with, "Well, what do you think a boyfriend would do if you had one?"

"Take me to the school dances, help me not to be as insecure as I am now, stand up for me, be someone else I could talk to besides you. I mean, it's not like I have a problem with you, but..." Gabriella used her plastic fork to play with the cheese fries on her lunch tray.

"Why are you acting this way? It's like all of a sudden, you decided you wanted to be like everyone else. You never told me any concerns you had about not fitting in before, and anyway, you haven't cared even a little about feeling like you belong in the past. I'm not sure I like this 'new' best friend. I liked you how you were yesterday a whole lot better."

"Troy, I don't like no one sitting with us at lunch. I don't like being the only cheerleader not included in the others' conversations. I don't like only having one friend; the rest of the cheerleaders have several. I just don't fit in with everyone else."

"Why does that matter? And am I a bad friend?"

"It matters because I'm tired of being shy, insecure, and ignored. I know it's something I probably won't be able to change, but I can at least try, right? And no, you're not a bad friend. It's just that sometimes I wish I had a few girls as friends, also. Then I would have someone to talk about my crushes with, go shopping with, and just other girly things."

"You can tell me who you like."

"No thank you," Gabriella said, surprisingly coldly, as she rose from her seat and briskly walked out of the cafeteria.

"Brie!" Troy called, springing out of his chair and rushing after his friend. "Brie, something's wrong. I know it," he said as he caught up to her and gently grabbed her arm. "Please talk to me. If it's something I did, I want to know what it was."

"It's nothing you did," Gabriella assured quickly. "Now please...just leave me alone." She pulled away from Troy and continued on her path.

Troy stood there, astonished about what had just happened. His friend had never rejected him like that before. In the past, she'd always welcomed his invitations to tell him what was wrong. But this time...this time he just couldn't figure out what the trouble was.

Gabriella looked back to be sure Troy wasn't following her. Satisfied to see he was just standing in the spot where their small argument had taken place, she took the final two steps out of the cafeteria and ran to the bathroom, where she locked herself in a vacant stall and began to silently cry, her tears smearing both her eye make-up and the drawings Troy had drawn on her cheeks earlier.

After a good fifteen minutes was up, Gabriella stepped out of the stall and walked over to the mirrors above the small row of sinks. She looked wreck, and definitely was _not_ going back out in the halls that way.

Taking a paper towel, she wet it, squirted a decent amount of soap onto it, then rubbed it on both her cheeks until the smudged red marks vanished. She then took another one to wash the soap away along with her make-up.

_I look like the same person I've always been,_ she thought with a sigh as she studied her clean face. _And that won't help a thing._ However, she forced herself out the door and into the halls, where she began walking to her English class, assuming that lunch was long over.

* * *

While they rode home on the bus, both Troy and Gabriella were awkwardly silent. When they arrived home, neither one said anything to the other. Instead, they just went to their own houses to do their homework separately rather than together.

"Hi! How was school today? And where's Gabriella?" Lucille asked her son as he walked through the door alone.

"Not here," Troy mumbled, not even taking the time to look at his mother as he made his way up the stairs and into his bedroom.

"Is something wrong?" Lucille inquired a moment later as she appeared in the doorway of Troy's room. "You don't seem very happy. Are you and Brie fighting?"

"I don't know what's going on," Troy answered honestly with a sigh. "She was just acting weird today, and before I knew it, she was complaining that she didn't have any girls for friends, saying she needed a boyfriend, and walking away from me." He shrugged.

"Maybe she was just in a bad mood today," Lucille suggested.

"Mom, I've known her for eleven years. I've been around her when she was in all sorts of moods, and she's never acted like this at all. It has to be something more than just being in a bad mood," Troy insisted.

"Well, I'm sure you'll be getting along in no time. Perfect eleven year long friendships shouldn't just suddenly fall apart like this. By tomorrow, she should be acting more like herself."

"Hopefully."

* * *

The next morning, Gabriella didn't show up at Troy's door to walk to the bus stop at the time she usually did, so when Troy went out of his house to get to school, he went to hers. Maria answered and informed him that Gabriella wasn't feeling well that day so she wouldn't be going to school.

"Oh, alright," Troy said. "Well, I hope she gets better soon. Is it okay if I stop over after school to see her?"

"I guess," Maria shrugged. "I don't know how much she wants visitors, though."

"Okay, well, bye," Troy responded as he walked away with a dejected look on his face. What had made Gabriella decide she didn't want visitors? She had always wanted _him_ to see her, at least. Maybe not any family members, but _he_ was _always_ allowed to visit.

* * *

After school, Troy found himself on the porch of Gabriella's house again, waiting for someone to let him inside.

"What are you doing here?" Gabriella inquired as she answered the door, not appearing to be sick at all despite the fact she was in her pajamas. "I thought my mom told you I didn't want anyone visiting."

"I thought you would want me to come, though," Troy shrugged. "And besides, I brought you your homework."

"Alright," Gabriella sighed. "Well, I guess you can come in for a minute." She stepped aside to allow her friend access to the doorway. Once he was inside, she shut the door and plopped down on the sofa. "So, I guess you just have to give me my homework, then you can leave?"

"No," Troy replied firmly. "I'm not leaving until you tell me what's wrong. You've been acting this way since yesterday morning, and I have no clue as to what's gotten into you. Now you know you can tell me anything, right?"

"Troy, I thought I told you what was wrong," Gabriella responded.

"Brie, I don't believe that the things you listed yesterday are the only things making you act um...uh...not like yourself. I know you too well to believe that." Troy sat beside Gabriella and looked up at her face, trying to read her feelings.

"But you have to!" Gabriella insisted.

"What's bothering you?" Troy tried again. "You're not acting like my best friend. You're acting more like a stranger. You _need_ to let me know what's going on or else we're never going to have the bond we used to have just the other day."

"I don't feel like talking about it," Gabriella mumbled, staring at her lap.

"Please, Brie. If you talk it out, maybe you'll feel better."

"Why don't you just leave me alone? I'm sick."

"That's another thing," Troy said, ignoring her demand to leave her alone. "You don't seem very sick at all. Your eyes aren't watery, you aren't coughing, you don't sound stuffy, you look wide awake...you're lying to me."

"Maybe I just didn't feel like going to school today!" Gabriella yelled. "Maybe I wanted to be left alone. Maybe I just want you to give me my homework and get out of my house. Besides, my parents said I can't have guys over when they're not home."

"But it's not just some guy you have over. It's _me._ They trust me, don't they?"

"Just get out."

Troy pulled some papers from his backpack, handed them to his friend, then said, "Bye. Hopefully I'll see you tomorrow." He paused for a moment, waiting to see if she would respond. When she didn't, he silently rose from his seat and walked out the door, his mind clouded with all sorts of thoughts about what was going on with his best friend. Why was she rejecting him? Why was she just pushing him away when he was doing nothing but trying to help?

As he took the short walk home, he became determined to discover all the answers he wanted.

* * *

**Okay, so this one's not real long, either. Again, I would like to thank Zac is my. Life and VampxLover for helping me:) They're pretty much helping me with this whole story, so they deserve some credit for it!**

**Oh, and did you guys all the see the video of Zac giving Vanessa a twenty dollar bill while she was performing in Rent? And also the nail polish he had on two fingers that was the same color Vanesa had for Rent? And the Zanessa kiss in the car after Rent was over Sunday! What a great weekend, but it would have been better if Zac would've been able to beat Taylor Lautner in the TCAs:( Taylor beat him out in everything:( I'm so sad:(**

**What do you think is wrong with Gabriella? Do you think she'll ever tell Troy what's going on? Please review!**


	5. Comfort

Troy couldn't seem to fall asleep. As hard as he tried, he just couldn't. Another day had passed since Gabriella had decided to push him away, and the memories of what had happened at her house the other day were too fresh and troublesome in his mind, so try as he might, it was impossible for him to knock them out.

After another half hour of attempting to sleep, Troy slid out of bed, crept downstairs, and silently made an escape into the backyard, where he grabbed the basketball lying in the grass and walked toward the gate, ready to go out front to his hoop. However, something stopped him. Something that sounded like sobs.

Freezing up, Troy cautiously turned his head toward his best friend's yard, where he caught sight of Gabriella, bathed in the light of the full moon up ahead, sitting in the grass with her face buried in her hands. He could detect the movement of her shivering, and wondered why she was outside in October with only a spaghetti strap tank top and shorts.

Changing his direction, Troy headed back over toward the center of his yard, where he dropped his basketball, then silently padded through the grass until he reached the fence separating his yard from Gabriella's. "Brie?" he called softly, his voice carrying on the chilly midnight breeze that was passing through.

Gabriella raised her head and allowed her sorrowful eyes to meet Troy's. "What are _you_ doing out here? It's the middle of the night."

"I might ask you the same thing."

"It's none of your business," Gabriella mumbled, hugging her knees to her chest with one arm and pulling grass from the ground with her other.

"Brie, you've been acting weird all week. Today you didn't even talk to me in school. And then I find you out here crying? Something's wrong."

"So what if something is?" Gabriella said, standing up and turning to go back inside.

"I want to help you. Please. If you talk your problems out with someone, it should make you feel better. And I promise that whatever you tell me, I won't tell _anyone,_ not even my parents."

Gabriella sighed. "Fine." She headed over to the fence Troy was standing on the other side of and carefully climbed over it, a skill she had picked up several years back.

"Let's go up to my room," Troy suggested as he led his friend into his house and quietly up the stairs. Once she was in his bedroom with him, he cautiously closed the door and laid down on his bed, motioning for Gabriella to do the same.

"Okay." Gabriella sighed as she pulled the covers over her frozen body and rested her head on Troy's firm chest.

"So, are you ready to tell me what's going on?"

Gabriella burst into tears suddenly and clung to Troy, getting his red Wildcats t-shirt wet with them.

Troy silently held his friend close to him in attempt to comfort her. For a few minutes, nothing other than the sound of Gabriella's soft sobbing and Troy's steady breathing could be heard.

"I'm ready," Gabriella announced with a deep breath as she lifted her head and turned her body around so she was lying on her back with her face upward rather than on her stomach with her face buried into Troy's chest.

"I'm listening," Troy said.

"Well, for the past six months or so, my parents haven't been getting along very well. But just recently, their arguments have become heavier and more frequent. I can tell they're trying to have them in places I can't hear, but they always end up getting too loud. Now last week, they both sat me down and announced that they were probably getting a...a divorce since things weren't working out anymore." Gabriella paused to wipe a tear from her eye. "And the night after they told me that, I heard them in their room arguing. My dad was saying that my mom had raised me to be anti-social because he thought if I _wasn't_ anti-social, I would have more than one friend. My mom was saying that my dad's teaching me that it's okay to sleep over with random guys because he's the one that always lets me sleep over at your house and you to stay over at mine, while my mom is never around when he's giving me permission. My mom's also worried that I don't have any girls as friends, and that I'm not befriending any of the cheerleaders. And I heard her telling my dad, too, that she thinks we're doing stuff since apparently he's making me think it's okay to do things since he lets me share a bed with you and all, while she doesn't approve of it." Gabriella felt a huge load lift off her shoulders.

"Oh, Brie," Troy murmured, pulling his friend close to him and kissing her forehead. "I'm so sorry. But may I ask why your mom doesn't say 'no' to us sleeping in the same room?"

"She doesn't want to cause trouble with my dad when you're over, and when I'm here, your parents get to say whether or not we share a bed, and I guess she thinks that even if she tells me 'no' at home, I'll still do it."

Troy nodded in understanding.

"And I thought that if I made friends with the other cheerleaders-and the only way to do that seems to be to get a boyfriend-and stopped hanging out with you so much, my parents would stay together."

"Brie, I'm sure the problem's a lot deeper than just how each one of them raised you." Troy ran his fingers through Gabriella's hair.

"I guess. But I just thought that if I was a perfect daughter, they would stay together because they wouldn't have to worry about how one other raised me."

"You are perfect," Troy assured.

"No, I'm not. If I was, they wouldn't be arguing about this."

"If they're having problems, though, they can't all be based on you. Changing yourself won't make the situation go away."

"But I don't want them to get divorced. Then, not only will I live with just a mother or just a father, but I might have to move away." Tears began trickling down her cheeks.

"It's alright," Troy comforted. "Everything will work out. If you have to move, then ask if it can be somewhere near here so you can still go to the same school and come over to my house. If you need to leave, you should have a say in where you're going."

"Thanks, Troy," Gabriella said, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand. "And I'm sorry for ignoring you the past couple days. I hope you can forgive me."

"Brie, I was never mad at you. I was just upset because you were pushing me away, and I knew something was bothering you."

"Well, I'm not gonna do that anymore. If I make friends by being myself, then great, but if I don't, then I don't. Maybe when my parents come watch me cheerlead for you at your first high school basketball game, they'll believe that I can be social. But if not, then I guess things will just be how they are now."

"That might help a little, but I don't think it'll solve all their problems. I really hope they can work everything out. And just so you know, I'll be here for you no matter what. If you ever need someone to talk to, just call me or come over." said Troy.

"Okay. Thanks." Gabriella smiled.

"No problem. Now, how about we get some rest? You can stay the night."

"I...I don't know if I can. I'd better go back home because if my parents find I'm not in my room in the morning, they'll probably start fighting again," Gabriella responded. "Could you come to my house, maybe?" The people who had owned the Montez house before Gabriella's family had moved in had added a balcony onto the back of Gabriella's room. By it sat a large tree, and Troy would sometimes climb that to get up there at night to visit if he had to tell Gabriella something he wanted to say in person rather than on the phone or if they just had the desire to hang out for a little. So if he did sleep over at Gabriella's, his presence in her home would go unnoticed, as when her parents began waking up, Troy would just slip out the balcony door and climb down the tree.

"Sure."

"Thanks. I just want to be close to you right now, since you seem to be the only one that cares about me anymore. My parents are sort of ignoring me because they're always fighting, and everyone at school is obviously not friendly with me." Gabriella sighed.

"I'm sorry you need to go through this, Brie," Troy said. "I really am. Now, let's go to your house and get some rest."

Troy and Gabriella cautiously made their way down the stairs, out the back door, and into Gabriella's yard. Troy then began climbing up the tree to his friend's balcony while Gabriella entered her home through the back door, crept up to her room, and let Troy inside. After that, without saying a thing, Troy and Gabriella crawled under the lavender and white covers of Gabriella's bed.

"Good night," Troy whispered, lightly touching his lips to his best friend's cheek.

A surprised expression crossed Gabriella's face, as Troy had never kissed anywhere except her forehead before. However, she didn't question him. She just kissed his cheek in return and softly said her 'good night.'

After the lamp beside the bed was turned out, Troy and Gabriella snuggled close to one another, closed their eyes, and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

_Beep! Beep!_

Troy and Gabriella's eyes opened to the irritating sound of Gabriella's alarm clock, which was set for six o' clock. Neither one of them felt ready to get up, however, because the previous night they had ended up not sleeping until two in the morning, and four hours of rest wasn't enough.

"I hate school days," Gabriella groaned as she slammed the 'off' button on the alarm clock, slid out of bed, and dragged herself into her small bathroom for a shower.

"Me, too," Troy agreed, getting up. "But I guess we have to learn. I'm gonna go back to me place and get ready. I'll see you in like...forty-five minutes." He held out his arms. "Wanna give me one more cuddle?"

Gabriella, who was about to close the bathroom door, raced over to her best friend and flung her arms about him, nestling comfortably into his firm chest. "I'll see you. Bye."

"Bye." After holding Gabriella for a minute more, Troy disappeared out the balcony door.

* * *

When Troy and Gabriella walked through the doors of East High, they were met by the cheerleaders all huddling in a small circle, giggling about who know what, the guys from the football team playfully wrestling and talking loudly about what was to happen at their homecoming game the next evening, and the basketball players sitting against the wall and telling one another how excited they were for their first game, which was to be held in just two weeks.

Troy and Gabriella pushed their way through the busy halls and found their lockers. Once they took the things they needed for the day from them, they began walking toward their homeroom, only to be stopped by an African-American guy who looked about their age.

"Hey," the guy said. "What a hot girl you got there."

"Don't hit on my best friend," Troy warned, forming fists with his hands, preparing to punch the guy if need be.

"Oh, best friend? Well then, I guess she's free for me to snatch up." He turned away from Troy and positioned his face just inches away from Gabriella's. "You're looking good today. What's your name?"

"Gabriella," Gabriella answered timidly.

"I'm Chad." His hand grazed Gabriella's side, sliding to an almost inappropriate level. "And I'm a sophomore. What about you?"

Gabriella shook her head. "Freshman," she choked out.

"Get away from her," Troy demanded. Even though he was sort of shy, he wasn't afraid to stand up for his best friend when he felt she needed it.

"And why should I? She's hot and single," Chad responded.

"Just back off." With those words, Troy grabbed Gabriella's arm and led her away from Chad, who was staring after the both of them, a bewildered expression on his face.

"I don't like him," Gabriella remarked, keeping close to Troy's side as she followed him through the halls. They were taking the long way to their homeroom-and all because of Chad.

"Me, neither. I didn't care for him calling you 'hot' and trying to touch you inappropriately. He's older than you for one, and for two, he's just a sophomore, so he shouldn't even be thinking about fingering girls like that."

"I agree. It really scared me when he put his hand on me."

"Well, I'll tell him to back off anytime I'm around and he tries to do anything, but for when I'm not right with you, I would suggest turning around and heading in the other direction when you see him, alright?"

"Okay."

* * *

The next evening was the homecoming game, and that left Gabriella with a problem: what she should wear. Troy was going with her, and as she was a girl with a date-even if that date was her best friend rather than a boyfriend-she had that instinct to make herself look good.

After taking a shower that lasted for almost an hour, Gabriella slipped on her fuzzy periwinkle bathrobe and walked over to her closet, where she sorted through her clothes. Jeans, t-shirts, sweatshirts, Troy's clothes he had left over at her house once when he was staying the night, skirts, dresses...you would think that out of all those things, she would be able to decide on _something_ to wear. But she just couldn't.

Biting her lip in frustration until it nearly bled, Gabriella yanked articles of clothing from her closet, lying them out on her bed to try and help her decide what to wear. One combination consisted of dark wash boot cut jeans and a three quarter sleeved pale green top, while the other was made up of a knee-length crimson skirt with ruffles, a white spaghetti strap tank top, and a cropped sweater the same color as the skirt with just a little sparkle.

"I'm saying that she shouldn't sleep over at Troy's tonight!" Maria was yelling in the hall right outside her daughter's door. Gabriella was invited to stay the night at Troy's the football game as well as the one of the homecoming dance, but her mother didn't seem too happy about it.

"She should! We need time to work out our problems, and poor Gabriella shouldn't have to be home to listen to us fight like this! Our difficulties aren't her fault!" David protested.

"Yeah, well if you cared so much about her, you wouldn't allow her to sleep over at a guy's house this much! Do you think about all the things they could be doing over there? I mean, in case you didn't know this, they change clothes in front of one another, and soon Troy, being a teenage boy, is going to take one look at our daughter in her underwear and start luring her into something she's far too young for."

"I don't agree with you. Our daughter should be allowed to spend time with her best friend. And I doubt they're doing anything. I'm sure Jack and Lucille would tell us if they found any evidence of something suspicious, and also, if they made the decision to have sex, we would most likely find pregnancy tests in Gabriella's room. Now none of that has happened, has it? No. And our daughter's smart. She wouldn't do anything like that at the age she is. She's not a slut like some other freshman girls are."

"You're acting like she's still a little girl, which she's not. She's a _teenager,_ and so is Troy. It's no longer cute that they sleep in the same bed now. It's not right. There's no such thing as an innocent teenager. Her and Troy are at the age where they're curious about things and may decide to try something just to see what it's like, even if they are only friends. I just don't think they should have sleepovers anymore, especially two nights in a row. I didn't even get a say in the one night thing, and then you go and tell her she can go have two in the same weekend?" Maria screamed.

"Look who's talking! You were the one who was cheating on me with another man! I think you're far less innocent than our daughter!"

Gabriella refused to believe what she had just heard. She had known her mother had not been home at random times lately, but she'd never guessed she had been cheating on her father. And did she trust her that little? Did she really think she was going to try something with Troy? Feeling tears slide down her cheeks, Gabriella sank down onto her bed and began to cry. She couldn't stand the thoughts of her mother cheating and not trusting her.

As Gabriella cried, the sounds of her parents fighting continued in the background. However, Gabriella wasn't paying attention to what they were saying. She just couldn't bear to listen to their fights any longer. After only a few more minutes, though, the yelling stopped, and a knock was heard at Gabriella's door.

"Who is it?" Gabriella called, struggling to keep her tearful voice steady.

"It's me," Maria responded.

"Come in."

Maria entered her daughter's room and, not seeming to notice she was crying, announced, "I'm leaving as soon as I can pack my things. You and your father are on your own. My boyfriend can provide a better home for me than he can. Now I just want to make sure you know that I'm not abandoning you. I'll come visit on weekends and you can come see me or call at any time. And as soon as possible, your father and I are getting an official divorce, so then you can choose if you would like to live with me and my boyfriend Samuel, or your father."

"M-Mom..." Gabriella wanted to say more, but couldn't, as her throat was too choked up.

"I just can't stay here any longer. Your father is just driving me crazy. Now I don't want you to cry and be sad, I want you to continue to have fun and be happy. If you ever need me, just call, even if it's in the middle of the night. I'll always be here to support you as a good mother should."

"P-Please stay..."

"I can't." Maria shook her head as she pulled her daughter into a hug. "I love you, Gabriella, and you don't know how much this is hurting me to have to leave you behind. I mean, I know that after your father and I get our divorce, you'll still want to live here since it's the house next to your best friend's and you have your school and the neighborhood you're familiar with."

"I-I love you, too, Mom. And you're right. B-But I'll visit you when I can, and call you every day."

"Alright. Now finish getting yourself ready for the homecoming game, then go out and have a good time." Maria kissed her daughter's head, then, with a tear trickling down her cheek, left the room.

"Gabriella."

Gabriella turned to see her father standing in the doorway. Running up to him, she flung her arms about him. "W-Why did you and Mom h-have to f-fight like this? W-Why d-does she h-have to l-leave?"

"We just don't love each other like we used to," David explained. "And we think it's best for you if we're separated, since hearing us fight all the time can't be fun."

"B-But isn't there some w-way to w-work things out?"

David slowly shook his head. "I'm afraid not, sweetheart. I'm sorry. If there was anything I could do, I would do it. Trust me."

_Ding Dong!_

"That must be Troy," Gabriella mumbled, pulling away from her father as she raced downstairs and to the door. Opening it, she barely allowed Troy to walk in before clutching him tightly and crying her heart out.

Troy didn't say anything. Instead, he just quietly held his best friend close to him, waiting for her to be ready to talk about her problem.

"Let's go up to my room," Gabriella suggested after a little while.

Troy followed his friend upstairs. Once they were shut in her room, he sat down with her on the bed and cuddled her to his chest as she poured out everything that had happened.

"I'm so sorry," Troy murmured. "You really shouldn't have to go through this. Did you want to stay home tonight?"

Gabriella shook her head and wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. "Let me just get dressed and do something with my hair." Slipping out of Troy's arms, she selected the jeans and top outfit, as the one with the skirt would probably cause her legs to grow too chilly, dressed in it, blew her curls dry, parted them on the side, applied a little lip gloss, then slipped on some socks with sky blue Converses and a maroon hoodie. "I'm ready."

"Alright. If we hurry, we should make it just in time." Grabbing his friend's hand, Troy led her down the stairs and out the door. "My dad is waiting to drive us to the school."

"Okay."

"And don't forget-I'll always be here for you if you need someone to talk to. Don't be afraid to call if you want to discuss something. I don't care how much ranting or crying you need to do, I'll listen to it all."

"Alright." After a pause, she added, "Thanks for being a good friend."

"No problem," Troy smiled as he tightened his grip on Gabriella's hand and began sprinting toward his car, in which his father was patiently waiting.

* * *

**Okay, here's (finally) a longer chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it! (Well, the end was sort of difficult to enjoy I guess, but...) **

**So what do you think of Chad in this story? I know he's OOC, but I just wanted to try something different. And do you think I overdid the whole dramatic area with Gabriella's parents? And consecutive criticism is appreciated. This chapter is one of the few dramatic ones that's going to be in this fic, just letting you know. And hurt/comfort is also added to my list of genres. **

**Please review:) I smiled when I got 14 reviews last time! And thank you all so much for helping me get 50 reviews in 4 chapters!**


	6. Awkward

At the game, Troy and Gabriella found seats on the already crowded bleachers surrounding the football field. They were just in time, for as soon as they sat down, the East High football players ran onto the field along with their rival team, West High, and the football cheerleaders for both schools.

"Oh my gosh! Gabriella, you have a boyfriend!" Carissa, a girl on Gabriella's cheerleading team who was sitting behind Troy and Gabriella, screeched. "He's cute."

"Actually, he's my best friend," Gabriella corrected timidly, refusing to meet Carissa's hazel eyes.

"Excuse me, Todd," Carissa said to the tall brown-haired guy she was sitting beside. As she spoke, she slid off the bleacher she was on and plopped herself down in the small space between Troy and the stranger he was next to. "Hey, so what's your name?" She flashed a pure white smile and tucked a strand of her long, wavy blonde hair behind her ear. "I'm Carissa, but you can call me Rissie if you want. That's what my boyfriend-well, soon to be ex-boyfriend-calls me."

"I'm Troy," Troy answered hesitantly.

"Nice to meet you, Troy," said Carissa, leaning over to kiss Troy's cheek.

"Um...why don't you go back to your boyfriend?" Troy suggested, taking his finger to rub the kiss-along with the lip gloss it had left behind-off.

"Why should I? I have you!" Carissa responded loudly, causing many heads to turn in the direction of the sound.

"Well I'm uh...actually interested in someone else."

"Aw, well I'll make sure you're happier than anyone in the world with me. Now do you have a date for the homecoming dance tomorrow night? If not, we should go together." She flipped her hair and giggled flirtingly.

"Actually...I'm going with Brie," Troy said hesitantly as he hugged Gabriella close to his side.

"Why would you want to go with her? She's not really an important member of the cheerleading team. She's always in the back row and _never_ gets to perform any stunts." A look of confusion crossed Carissa's face.

"But she's my best friend. And neither one of us are currently in a relationship, so..." A nervous feeling swept through Troy as he spoke those words.

"Oh, she wouldn't mind, would you Gabriella?" Carissa turned her stare to Gabriella.

"Well, I was actually looking forward to going with Troy..." Gabriella trailed off as she began chewing on her lip.

"And what about your boyfriend? If you go with me, who will he go with?" Troy said.

Carissa shrugged. "I dunno."

"I'm not sure about this...I mean, it's really on short notice. Maybe we can see about the next dance..."

"Okay!" Carissa squealed as she rushed back to Todd, who now had confusion written all over his face, as he had overheard the entire conversation between his girlfriend and Troy.

"Are you really gonna think about going to the next dance with her?" Gabriella inquired in a soft tone as she looked straight into Troy's cerulean irises.

"Are you kidding?" Troy whispered back. "No way!"

"Were you lying when you said you were interested in someone, or is there really a girl that managed to catch your eye?"

"I was lying," Troy replied quickly, refusing to meet Gabriella's eyes any longer.

"Who do you like?" Gabriella asked curiously after a pause, not believing Troy's response. After knowing him for eleven years, she was _positive_ he had a secret crush, as she had memorized what he did when he was telling a fib.

"Nobody," Troy said, still not letting himself look Gabriella in the eye.

"I know you're lying, Troy," Gabriella told her friend. "And you know you can tell me anything, don't you?"

"Alright, I'm lying," Troy admitted when he had taken a moment to deliberate on how he should respond.

"Well, do you want to tell me who you like?"

Troy hesitantly brought his gaze up to Gabriella's and looked her in the eye. "Okay," he sighed, nervously running his fingers though his hair, "I guess I can't keep this from you any longer, Brie." He paused. This moment was ten times harder than he had ever imagined. He had always been so comfortable with his best friend, but now that he had to tell her something like what he was about to say, he was tongue-tied.

"Go on," Gabriella urged. "I understand that if you like someone else, we just won't be able to spend as much time together as we used to. And I'll be okay with that."

_Someone else? Does she..._

"Troy, are you gonna say something?" Gabriella asked after her friend was silent for a while.

"Yeah, uh...um...well, I...I know a lot is going on with you right now, and I hate to cause more changes in your life, but now that you sort of already know something's up, I guess I have to continue..." Troy paused and ran his fingers through his hair.

"I'm listening."

Troy took a deep breath. "Brie," he started, "I like you. And not just as a friend anymore."

Gabriella took a moment to digest his words. "I like you, too," she responded, a blush creeping upon her face. She'd never imagined she would be telling her best friend she was attracted to him in a romantic manner.

A huge wave of relief washed over Troy. "You do?"

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah. I just didn't want to say anything before because well...I was scared you wouldn't see me in that way and be kind of...unsure about it. And I've never told a guy I liked him before, so I didn't quite know how to break the news to you."

"Okay, so...now what?" Pure confusion reflected in Troy's eyes.

Gabriella shrugged. "I was hoping you would have that answer..."

An awkward silence occurred between the two teenagers, who eventually turned their eyes from one another and, angling in opposite directions from each other, stared beneath at the ground, not even watching East High scoring a touchdown on the field.

* * *

After the game-which neither Troy nor Gabriella had spoken during once their feelings were revealed to each other-was over, Troy cautiously placed a hand on his friend's arm. "Brie, it's uh...time to go."

Gabriella silently rose from her seat and followed Troy out to the parking lot, where they climbed into the car his dad was waiting in. The entire ride home was so quiet, the sound of a pin dropping could be heard.

Once they arrived at Troy's house, Troy told his dad he was going to walk Gabriella to her door. Upon him agreeing, he began making his way to her door, right beside her. "Uh...um...did you still want to sleep over at my place?"

Gabriella shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, things are kind of awkward between us at this point, but..."

"Well, uh...maybe you could come over for a little but just not _sleep_ over...or if you do um...you could sleep in my room and I could sleep downstairs..."

"I'm not sure." Gabriella sighed. "I...I just wish my mom didn't leave. Then I could go inside and ask her how to handle this." Tears began rolling down her cheeks as she placed her hand on the unlocked knob of her front door and went inside, closing it behind her.

Troy stood at the door for a moment before sitting down on the swing hanging from Gabriella's porch. He didn't know if she was planning on coming back out to him or not, but he decided that it would be better for him to be available rather than to go home and not be there if his friend came outside again.

When ten minutes of waiting had passed, Troy heard his dad calling his name from his yard.

"I'm on Brie's porch!" Troy yelled in response.

The sound of someone walking through the grass, then the hard gravel of the driveway, was heard, and a moment later, Jack appeared beside Troy. "Is she getting stuff to bring for overnight?"

"I don't even know if she's staying overnight," Troy sighed, staring at the ground.

"Why? What happened? She isn't acting like she was the other day again, is she?" Jack sat down on the porch swing beside his son.

Troy shook his head. "No. It's just that...well, tonight I told her I liked her as more than a friend, she admitted that she did, too, and things just got sort of awkward for us." He paused. "She's also upset because her mom left her family tonight. I guess her parents were having problems, and Mrs. Montez just couldn't take living with Brie's dad anymore."

"Wait-so you like your best friend and you choose to tell her the night she has a family problem?"

"I didn't exactly choose tonight," Troy explained, then proceeded to tell his father the story of what had happened that evening.

"Oh, I see."

Just then, the door to the Montez home creaked open and David stepped out. "Oh, hi, Jack, Troy. I guess you were waiting for Gabriella to come out."

"Well, Troy was, then I came over here to see what was going on since he seemed to be gone a while," Jack said.

"You can both come in if you want. Troy, Gabriella's in her room crying. Maybe you can see if you can somehow cheer her up. She doesn't seem to want to talk to anyone, but I'm thinking she might talk to you."

Troy and his dad walked into the house, Troy immediately heading upstairs and to his best friend's room. "Brie?" he said softly as he opened the closed door, letting himself in, then shutting it behind him. Going over to Gabriella's bed, he sat down beside her.

"T-Troy," Gabriella sobbed, sitting up and crawling into her friend's lap, her head resting on his shoulder.

"I know, this has been a difficult night for you," Troy murmured softly as his arms wrapped around Gabriella and held her close to him.

"I-I miss m-my mom a-and...and I-I don't k-know w-what t-to do n-now b-because w-we l-like each other..."

"Everything will be fine," Troy comforted. "Maybe your mom will eventually end up coming back, and if you want, we could talk about what to do now that we both know we have feelings for one another."

Gabriella took a moment to relax before grabbing a tissue off her end table and using it to dab her tears away. Once most of them were gone, she backed away from Troy and sat beside him, waiting for a conversation to begin.

"So," Troy started, "I still want to hang out with you and all."

"I still want to hang out with you, too," Gabriella said. "But are we going to be doing it as friends from now on or as boyfriend and girlfriend?"

"Well, do you want to be my girlfriend?"

"Do you want to be my boyfriend?"

"Only if you want to be my girlfriend. I don't want to step out of the 'just friends' stage if you don't feel you're ready for your first relationship," Troy responded, looking up into Gabriella's eyes and trying to read her thoughts.

"I would be fine with having a boyfriend, especially since it's you. I mean, I'm not sure about kissing and all yet-I don't think I'm ready to kiss a guy, even if it's you-but I wouldn't mind going on little dates with you over the weekends, and a little more cuddling wouldn't be bad, either," Gabriella replied with a smile.

"So does this mean we're together now?"

"If you're alright with that, then I guess it does," Gabriella said, shrugging.

"Of course I'm okay with it! Now, did you want to stay over at my house still?"

"I...I don't know if I should now that we're a couple. It might be a little weird sharing a bed with you, and kissing good night like we usually do...I don't really know about that. It might be an awkward evening for the both of us." Gabriella chewed on her lip.

"Well, like I suggested before, I can sleep on the couch downstairs if you want me to. Just because you sleep over at my house doesn't mean we have to share a bed with each other," said Troy.

"Maybe I will sleep over," Gabriella decided after a minute.

"Alright. Well, I'll wait while you get your things together, then we can go," Troy said.

Gabriella got off the bed, grabbed a bag in which she packed with her clothes, hair things, toothbrush, and toothpaste, then turned back to her friend. "Ready."

"Okay." Troy led Gabriella downstairs and into the kitchen, where their dads were seated on the stools in front of the long counter, talking and drinking heavily iced Pepsi.

"I'm going to Troy's now," Gabriella announced.

David rose from his seat and walked over to his daughter, hugging her. Since Maria had left, he wanted to make sure she knew he still cared about her. "Bye. I'll see you tomorrow morning. Have fun."

"Okay, but before I go, could I talk to you alone?" Gabriella asked.

"Certainly. Let's go upstairs."

Once Gabriella and her father were in the master bedroom where Jack and Troy surely wouldn't be able to hear them, Gabriella said, "Troy's my boyfriend now."

"Your boyfriend?" David repeated.

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah. We sort of admitted our feelings tonight at the game." She paused for a moment before asking, "Is that alright with you? We won't kiss or anything until we're a little older."

"I trust the both of you," David responded. "I know you made a good choice by picking to date him over any other guy you could have. And I know you said you were waiting to kiss and stuff until you were older, but please, just make sure you keep that in mind when you're around him. I don't want you to get too far with him too fast. You're only freshman."

"We won't."

"And I know your mother should've really be the one having this talk with you, so I hope I did a good enough job with it. I don't really know what to say to teenage girls about this because I've never been a teenage girl." David laughed.

"I think you did fine," Gabriella smiled.

"Great. Now why don't you head off to Troy's? It's getting late."

"Okay! Bye, Dad."

"Bye, Gabby."

* * *

When Troy and Gabriella got inside Troy's house, Troy told both his parents he was now Gabriella's boyfriend. They each took it very well, saying that they had sort of expected them to get together at some point. But of course, they also had the warnings about not doing things that weren't age appropriate for them. Troy hadn't even thought of doing anything like that, but he still acknowledged his parents' words politely, as if he got smart, they probably wouldn't think he would act responsibly.

"So, you wanna watch a movie?" Troy asked once his parents had finished their conversation with him.

Gabriella nodded and followed Troy over to the sofa. Once he was seated, she climbed onto his lap.

"Really, Brie?" Troy said with a sigh as he grabbed the remote control from the spot beside him and pushed the 'power' button.

"I'm your girlfriend now," Gabriella reminded him. "I'm allowed to do stuff like this."

"Speaking of which, are you getting your boyfriend a present for his birthday next Saturday?" Troy inquired.

"Of course I am!"

"Do you mind telling me what it is?"

"Troy, don't you know that presents are supposed to be kept a secret?" Gabriella giggled as she rested her head against her boyfriend's shoulder.

"I think I heard something about that before, but I never knew if it was true or not."

"Well, it is true, so that means I can't tell you what your present is gonna be." said Gabriella.

"Can't I just have a hint?" Troy pleaded as he grabbed a large, thick blanket that was draped over the back of the sofa and pulled it over himself and Gabriella. It was growing chilly, the cold was getting to him, and the fact that having Gabriella all cuddled up in his lap wasn't making him any warmer signaled that she, too, was feeling some chill.

"No, you may not," Gabriella replied, pulling the blanket up to her chin. "And anyway, aren't we supposed to be watching a movie?"

"Yeah, but I'm too lazy to get up and look through the DVDs. How about we just sit here and talk for a while? We still have things we need to figure out." Troy ran his fingers through Gabriella's curls.

"Like what?"

"Like is tomorrow night going to be our first date, or are we still gonna try going to the dance as just friends?"

"I guess it could be considered our first date, because I'm pretty sure we're officially a couple now."

"Yeah, we are. So, are you excited to go out with me?"

Gabriella nodded. "Yes, except now I'm beginning to think that the dress I picked out isn't good enough. I mean, it doesn't look much like something I would wear on a date. It's not extremely dressy or anything. It's just a dress." She shrugged.

"I'm sure it'll be fine. I won't judge you because of the dress you wear. Just because we have a different relationship now doesn't mean I'll start using what you wear as a base of my opinions of you," Troy said.

"I guess I'm just feeling nervous since I've never been on a date before, you're my boyfriend, and I don't want to be a disappointment."

"You won't be," Troy assured.

"How do you know?"

"Because I've been your friend for years, and hanging out with you has never been boring or disappointing," Troy replied. "You've always been such a fun girl, you've never acted selfish or inconsiderate, and we've never fought except for that one time earlier this week."

"Thanks," Gabriella said with a yawn.

"You're welcome. And are you feeling sleepy?"

"M-hm." Gabriella slowly nodded her head.

"How about we go upstairs and get ready for bed?" Troy suggested.

"Okay."

Troy and Gabriella got up from their seats and headed upstairs, where they went into the bathroom to brush their teeth. When they were all finished, they walked into Troy's room to get into their pajamas.

"Uh...this is gonna be awkward," Gabriella said, hesitating to begin changing, as she felt her face grow hot. She wasn't sure about dressing and undressing in front of Troy anymore now that she knew he didn't view her as only a friend.

After a minute of uncomfortable silence, Troy agreed. "Yeah, it is. Um...you can use my bathroom and I'll stay in here."

"Okay." Gabriella headed into Troy's bathroom, changed, then called out, "Troy, are you done getting ready?"

"Yeah," Troy replied.

Gabriella emerged from the bathroom and put the clothes she had been wearing in her bag. "So...I guess I'm still sleeping up here?"

"Yeah, and I'll sleep downstairs," said Troy as he placed his right hand on the knob of the closed door he and Gabriella were trapped behind.

"It's gonna be really weird sleeping in your room without you."

"Well, do you want me to stay?"

"If you do, it'll probably feel awkward," Gabriella reminded him.

_Like things aren't awkward right now,_ Troy said to himself, thinking about how the entire evening had been slightly uncomfortable. "Uh..." he began, "I have a sleeping bag if you want me to stay in here. I could just...put it on the floor and sleep there."

"Okay."

Troy removed his hand from the door knob and pulled a navy sleeping bag from his closet. Tossing it on the ground, he grabbed one of the two pillows off his bed and placed it at the top. "Do you...uh...want a kiss?" he then asked, not meeting his girlfriend's eyes.

Gabriella took a moment to think. "Maybe just a hug," she decided.

Troy and Gabriella embraced each other, then Troy crawled into his sleeping bag while Gabriella got under the covers of his bed. As she turned the lamp beside her out, neither one of them uttered a word. Instead, they just closed their eyes and went to sleep.

* * *

**Okay, for this chapter I'd like to thank Dani (Pandora147) for helping me out!**

**I hope I did alright with this. It's not my favorite chapter, and it was sort of difficult writing the awkward parts between Troy and Gabriella, since I don't think I've done something like that before, so please review and let me know if it was alright:)**


	7. Homecoming

Gabriella looked over at the clock, which told her it was close to five in the afternoon. In just a little over two hours the homecoming dance would begin, and as each second passed, more and more butterflies fluttered in her stomach and her heart pounded faster.

_I've got to do my nails,_ she thought as she looked down at her plain, boring fingernails before rushing over to the three bottles of polish resting on her dresser and grabbing one. The color was a nice ocean blue, nearly the exact shade of Troy's eyes, the eye color Gabriella had always longed to have in place of her dull brown one that everyone except her seemed to like. And no, the nail polish being the same shade as her boyfriend's eyes wasn't a coincidence; she had deliberately chosen the shade for that specific reason when she had bought it two months ago.

After spending forty-five minutes painting her nails and letting them dry, Gabriella grabbed her green ipod off her end table, went into her bathroom, and filled the tub with warm water, preparing to take a relaxing bath rather than a shower while listening to some music.

* * *

Troy stood on Gabriella's porch, ringing her doorbell. His shaking hand held the corsage he had picked out for her and his forehead felt as if sweat was dripping off of it. Even though he had told himself over and over again that he wasn't nervous, that comforting statement just couldn't be true.

"Oh, hi," David greeted as he opened the door. "Gabriella's upstairs. I think she's still getting ready, so if you want to go and hurry her along, you can."

"Alright." Troy walked into the house, and, lying the corsage carefully on the living room coffee table, headed upstairs. Upon reaching Gabriella's door, he knocked.

No response came.

"Brie?" Troy called, knocking a second time.

When he received no answer after a moment, Troy opened the door and walked into the room, where the sound of music coming from somewhere met his ears. He then noticed her bathroom door was just cracked, signaling that she was probably in there but didn't close the door all the way since her bedroom door was already shut. "Are you in the bathroom, Brie?"

No reply was heard, so Troy repeated his question. After Gabriella didn't say anything, he peeked into the bathroom, where he saw her sitting down in the tub, music playing from her ipod speaker and her lips moving, singing along to the song.

"Troy!" Gabriella exclaimed, noticing who had just come in as she quickly turning around. "Why are you here? And why didn't you knock before coming in?" she demanded. An angry glare settled upon her blushing face as she reached over and snatched her towel off the floor in front of the tub, then pulled the shower curtain shut. After wrapping herself in the towel, she started to let the water drain and stepped out.

"I'm sorry," Troy, who had turned away from his friend, began awkwardly.

"You can't just come in rooms whenever you feel like it. I would enjoy some privacy every once in a while, especially since we're a couple and being naked in front of you now feels sort of awkward," Gabriella explained.

"I'm really sorry," Troy repeated. "And just to let you know it's uh...kind of time to go, so if you want to finish getting ready and meet me in your living room, that would be fine."

"It's time to go?" Gabriella's eyes widened. "Oh, I can't believe I let myself run this late!" A distraught expression clouded her face.

"It's fine, it's fine," Troy assured. "I'll just leave the room to let you have some privacy and you can take as long as you need to get ready." He exited the bedroom and closed the door firmly behind him.

Gabriella sighed as she let her towel fall to floor, put on the underwear she needed, then slipped into the dress she had chosen for the dance. It was a deep purple color, gracefully grazed her knees, had short sleeves, a not too low v-neck, and a sprinkling of glitter in the skirt.

Once the ribbons hanging down the sides of her dress were tied in the back, Gabriella blew her damp curls dry and pulled them into a high ponytail. It was the best up-do she could create, as her mother wasn't there to help her with a fancy bun or anything like that.

After spreading on some lip gloss and applying a little dark brown glittery eye shadow, Gabriella slipped her bare feet into her silver ballet flats and headed downstairs, where she saw Troy and her father seated in the living room, looking expectantly at the flight of stairs.

When Troy caught sight of his girlfriend, his eyes widened in shock. He had never in his entire life seen her look as good as she did right then. Everything about her was just so perfect-the way her legs, still slightly tanned from over the summer, contrasted with the color of her dress and shoes, the way her curls bounced with every step she took, the way her eyes seemed to sparkle with excitement despite the fact she was biting her lip in indication she was nervous-to him, she had no flaws.

"Finally," David said. "Next time, Gabby, make sure you give yourself more time to get ready."

"I will," Gabriella responded.

"Alright, well, my mom's going to drive tonight. She's been waiting in her car for a while now, so we'd better go." Troy grabbed Gabriella's corsage off the coffee table.

"Have fun, Gabriella," David said. "Bye."

"Bye, Dad," said Gabriella as she walked to the front door with Troy.

Once outside, Troy, with trembling hands, took the corsage and cautiously pinned it on Gabriella's dress. "Um...I hope that's okay...uh..."

"It's fine," Gabriella assured with a blush.

"You look...nice tonight."

Gabriella's cheeks darkened even further. "T-Thanks," she stammered. "So do you." A shiver ran through her body, reminding her she had forgotten the something she was going to bring along. "Um...I forgot my jacket. I'll be right back."

"Hurry!" Troy called as his girlfriend dashed inside.

Less than a minute later, Gabriella returned, slipping her semi-dressy jacket on as she ran out the door. Taking a deep breath, she announced, "I'm officially ready now."

"Okay. Let's go."

Troy and Gabriella grabbed one another's hands and dashed to Lucille's car. Climbing in the backseat, they hurriedly buckled their seatbelts while explaining to Troy's mother why it had taken so long for them to get out there, then were on their way to East High.

* * *

When they stepped into one of the two gyms, where the dance was to be held, loud music met Troy and Gabriella's ears. All over the room, teenagers were talking, dancing, and eating and drinking the food and beverages provided. It appeared as if everyone except Troy and Gabriella was there already.

"What should we do?" Gabriella asked.

Troy shrugged. "I don't know. We could um...try to dance, I guess." He cautiously took Gabriella's hand and, staying along the edge of the rest of the students, began awkwardly making an attempt to dance with her.

Gabriella followed along nervously, forcing her eyes to meet Troy's so they wouldn't appear to be the most uncomfortable couple present that evening.

"Uh, I don't think I'm doing this right," said Troy after twirling Gabriella in circles a couple times, holding her hands, and stepping back in forth in a random pattern. "Sorry."

"It's okay. I don't know how to dance, either."

"Yeah, well...I still feel bad. Do you...wanna go get some pizza or something?"

Gabriella shrugged. "If you want to."

"Uh, yeah, but I've got to go to the bathroom first. You can sit in one of those chairs and wait or something." He pointed to the few chairs lining the wall by the food table. "I won't be long."

"Okay." As Troy exited the gym, Gabriella hesitantly moved herself over to the seats and sat herself down in one, nervously biting her lip and staring at the floor beneath her. Out of all the hundred plus students in the room, she wasn't particularly friendly with any of them, and the thought of being alone around a group of people she didn't care much for frightened her.

"Hey, wanna dance with me?"

Gabriella lifted her head to see the guy she wanted to meet the least: Chad. That evening, he was wearing black dress pants that were obviously unbuttoned, for they appeared awfully baggy, and revealed the top of his green boxers. His white shirt had a pizza sauce stain near the left sleeve, and was only buttoned from the third button down. "N-No thanks. I'm just waiting for my date here."

"So you got ditched? Well, I won't ditch you, hottie. Come out onto the floor with me." Chad made a motion with his hand for her to follow him.

"No, he didn't ditch me, he just went to the bathroom," Gabriella explained shyly. "He'll be back soon."

"But until he comes back, you and I should see what we can do." Chad plopped down beside Gabriella and let his fingers slowly crawl up her leg and underneath her dress until he was touching her underwear.

"What the heck?"

Troy's loud exclamation startled Chad, causing him to jerk back. "What are _you_ doing here, Brason?"

"It's Bolton, and I'm Brie's boyfriend and her date tonight, so back off of her. She's too young to be touched like that, and no girl in general should ever be fingered that way first of all, in public, and secondly, from a guy she's not even together with." Troy had officially begun getting incredibly protective over his new girlfriend.

"I thought you were her best friend?" Chad said in annoyance as a glare settled upon his face.

"I used to be, but we're together now. So just go back to whichever unlucky girl out there is your date for the evening."

"Date? I don't have a date. What do I look like, one of those guys that sticks with one girl? No way! I just dance with them all!"

"Come on, Brie." Troy motioned for Gabriella to follow him away from Chad.

Gabriella eagerly followed her boyfriend.

"Are you okay?" Troy asked.

"I wanna go home," Gabriella responded as she tightly gripped Troy's hand. "Can I call my dad to come and get us, or at least me? You can stay if you want, but Chad just really scared me."

"Sure. You can use my phone." Troy, using his free hand, pulled his cell phone from his pocket and handed it to Gabriella while leading her out the gym doors. "And I'll leave with you. I don't have any purpose to be here alone."

Once out of the gym, Gabriella dialed her home phone number and held the phone to her ear, waiting for her father to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Dad. It's me. Can you come to the school and pick up Troy and I? We want to come home."

"Sure, but why? Did something happen?" David sounded concerned.

"Yeah. Troy had to go to the bathroom and I was just sitting in a chair waiting for him to come back. Then all of a sudden, this guy came and sat beside me and started running his fingers up my leg and under my skirt until he was touching my private area through my underwear."

"I'll be right there. And when I get there, I'll be sure to talk to the guy that did that to you." Anger was heavy in David's voice. "Bye."

"Bye." Gabriella hung up, then handed the phone back to Troy. "He said he's coming to get us, and when he comes, he's going to talk to Chad."

"Good," said Troy.

* * *

"Alright, where's this jerk I need to talk to?" David demanded as soon as he caught sight of Troy and Gabriella sitting on the edge of one of the Wildcat statues that were situated inside and close to the front doors.

"He's still at the dance," Gabriella replied. "Troy and I will take you to the gym it's in and point him out for you."

"Okay."

Troy and Gabriella immediately rose from their seats and led David into the room where homecoming was being held. Luckily, Chad was right by the food table in plain sight, hurriedly eating pizza like he would never eat it again, so a big hunt for him wasn't necessary.

"There he is!" Gabriella exclaimed, jabbing her pointer finger in Chad's direction.

David walked over to Chad. "Excuse me," he said coldly, "But do you mind telling me why you were touching my daughter tonight?"

Chad, refusing to look up from his pizza, replied with a full mouth, "I dunno what you're talking about."

"I'm Gabriella Montez's father, and I got a phone call from her saying that you were running her hand her up leg, underneath her dress, and on her private area."

Chad's heart began beating faster as sweat collected on his palms. Putting his pizza down on the table, he said, "I...I didn't do a thinng. I uh...I..."

"Don't even bother trying to lie. My daughter and her boyfriend wouldn't be making this up just for fun and games. You touched her. That's all there is to it. And I just wanted to let you know that I _will_ be calling the school about this and reporting it."

"You can't."

"And why can't I?"

"Because I'm the captain of the football team and everyone loves me. If I would get kicked out of school, everyone would be so disappointed."

"I don't care. Now that's all I have to say." With that, David walked away. "Let's go," he said to his daughter and her boyfriend.

Troy and Gabriella silently followed David as he made his way out of the room and outside to the car. They remained silent for the entire car ride, speaking only once they were through the door of Gabriella's home.

"Troy, can you stay over here tonight?" Gabriella requested. "I know I was supposed to sleep over at your place, but I think my dad would want me home now after that episode with Chad, and I still want you to be with me."

"Sure. I'll just call my parents and let them know. And as far as I know, I still have clothes here that I left by accident when I was staying the night before, and I'll worry about brushing my teeth and all when I get home, so I don't think I have to go back to my house to get anything."

"Alright. You can call your parents while I talk to my dad." Gabriella walked away from Troy and into the kitchen, where her father was cutting a slice of apple pie for himself. "Dad, can Troy sleep over here tonight instead of me going to his house?"

"Yeah, he can. Just don't forget that Mom wants you to visit her tomorrow afternoon," David answered. Earlier that day, Maria had called and requested that Gabriella come over for a few hours.

"Okay! And I won't forget." Gabriella hurried back to Troy. "He said you could."

"My parents are okay with it, too," Troy said as he slipped his cell phone back into his pocket and held out his arms. "Come here, Brie."

Gabriella smiled timidly as she slowly walked over to her boyfriend and embraced him.

"I just wanted to let you know that I'm sorry for what happened tonight," said Troy as he clutched Gabriella. "I shouldn't have left you alone in the gym. I should've asked you to come with me and just wait outside the bathroom."

"It's not your fault. Chad's the one that did something wrong," Gabriella comforted.

"But if I would've only thought about what he could do, we could've had a great first date."

"How about we start over? Maybe next weekend, for your birthday, we uh...go out somewhere and...I'll pay?" Gabriella chewed on her lip.

"Hey, you're not supposed to give a penny," Troy responded. "I'm the guy. I'm supposed to be paying for you. Though going out next weekend does sound great."

"But Troy, it's your birthday. I don't want to make you pay on your birthday," Gabriella protested.

"It's going to be our first official date, though. I should be the one paying for that. Please, Brie. Let me. You're getting me a present-that should be enough."

"Troy, I really want to. I would feel guilty letting you spend money on your birthday."

"Okay, I have a solution to our problem. How about we both put in some money towards our date? That way, we would've both contributed something."

"That sounds like the perfect solution," Gabriella said. After a pause, she inquired, "Where are we going, anyway?"

"I have no idea," Troy replied as he finally released Gabriella from his hold. "We should go somewhere cheap because I don't think either of us have much money since we don't have jobs."

"How about we go see a movie?" Gabriella suggested. "That shouldn't be too much as long as we don't buy a lot of snacks."

"That sounds good. What movie do you wanna see?"

"Troy, it's your birthday. You should pick," Gabriella answered.

"But you know I'll pick something you won't like," Troy said. "Every movie I want to see is one you either find scary, stupid, or boring. You should pick. I don't want this to be another bad first date for us."

"I do not find all the movies you want to see stupid or boring! Some of them just scare me, that's all," said Gabriella. "So if you avoid things that would give me nightmares, everything will be perfectly fine."

"Don't you remember when I wanted to see _Transformers_ and begged you to come along?" Troy asked. "After it was over, you said it was a pretty stupid movie and during it, you kept wanting to talk to me because you were getting bored."

"That was _one_ movie," Gabriella protested. "And it _was_ boring and pretty stupid."

"No, wait-I just thought of another one. Remember _Star Wars?_ During that entire thing, you were whispering to me about it being boring, and when we were leaving, you said, 'Who would ever think up such a bad plot?'" Troy laughed.

"Well, you complain during movies I make you come with me to see, too. Like the time we saw _High School Musical 3?_ You were groaning and covering your eyes at the part where Troy and Gabriella kiss! And then you were complaining that you had to keep getting up to get me tissues from the bathroom when I was crying because you wanted to stay and eat popcorn!"

"But Disney stole our names!" Troy complained. "It really got to me. How could, out of all the name choices in the world, they happen to pick out Troy and Gabriella for the two leading characters? And then you were crying at parts that I didn't even understand!"

"If you would've been watching it, you would've understood those parts! But no-after the basketball part was over, you just zoned out. And just to let you know, I was crying for a reason. First it was so sad because Gabriella told Troy she loved him and then hung up before he could say it back, and then it was so happy I just had to cry when he drove over a thousand miles to have a prom with her."

"But you were the only one in the theater crying! People were starting to stare."

"Maybe I was the only one, but no one was staring at me! They were all staring at you because you kept getting up to get tissues for me, and then you kept groaning and complaining," Gabriella said.

"Well, I wouldn't have needed to get tissues if you wouldn't have picked that movie to see!"

"Troy, the movie you wanted to see was a horror movie. Then I _still_ would've needed tissues because I would be crying at the really scary parts, and you would've had to miss some parts while you were getting me some."

"No I wouldn't have. I would've made you go get your tissues. The only reason I got them for you during _High School Musical _was because you couldn't bear to miss any of it and even though I did miss eating popcorn, the little breaks I had from it were sort of relieving."

"Was it that terrible?"

"Not to sound rude to you or anything, Brie, but it was a guy's worst nightmare. All the romance in it was really getting irritating, and the fact that the main couple in there was named after us made it kind of weird to watch. It made me think about if we would be doing all they were doing. I mean, besides the fact they had our names, you have to admit they sort of looked like us, too. I mean, Zac Eften had about the same haircut I had in it. Seriously! Why, out of all the haircuts he could've chosen, did he choose that one? And Veronica Hudgens had her hair cut similar to yours. The only difference I saw was that hers was longer."

"First of all, Troy, it's Zac _Efron_ and _Vanessa_ Hudgens. And secondly, so what if their hair looked similar to ours? I'm sure a lot of people in the world have the same haircuts that we do," Gabriella said.

Troy responded by picking Gabriella up and taking her to her bedroom, where he playfully tossed her on the bed and began to tickle her. "I win," he announced with a playful smile.

"Troy, stop it!" Gabriella giggled.

"Never!" Troy shouted, continuing to lightly run his fingers over her most ticklish areas. "You know you like when I do this to you. You smile every time."

"That's because it tickles and makes me laugh!" Gabriella squealed. "I don't smile because I enjoy you attacking me like this!"

"Okay, I'll stop, then, and you can tell me what you wanna do," said Troy.

Gabriella, letting out loud giggles, ran down the stairs and to her DVD cabinet. Pulling out a DVD, she held it up to Troy, who was just coming into the living room with her. "I wanna watch this. And you can bring the tissue box out here if you want so you don't have to leave while it's playing."

Troy groaned. "_High School Musical 3? _Seriously? Why can't we watch a more neutral movie, like one we would both enjoy."

"Please?" Gabriella begged, sticking out her lower lip in a pout. "I had a bad night tonight."

"You know, I've been thinking about making you one of those spoiled girlfriends that gets whatever she wants, so I guess this would be a good time to stop thinking about it and start deciding to treat you that way. So in other words, yes, we can watch it." Troy sighed.

"Thank you!" Gabriella exclaimed as she tossed her arms about Troy. "Now you can go get the tissues, I'll make some popcorn, and then, as long as you're letting me get whatever I want, I'll cuddle in your lap and we can start watching the movie."

"Alright," Troy agreed without enthusiasm.

Gabriella rushed to the kitchen, where she hurriedly popped a bag of microwave popcorn and dumped it into a large bowl while Troy grabbed a tissue box from the bathroom.

"Okay, let's start this," Gabriella said upon arriving in the living room. After putting the DVD in the DVD player, she took the popcorn, went over to Troy, who was already sitting down, grabbed the ruby red blanket that was draped over the top of the sofa, and climbed into Troy's lap. Once the blanket was comfortably wrapped around their bodies, she set the bowl beside them and, keeping her eyes peeled to the screen, on which the movie was just beginning to play, grabbed a handful of popcorn.

* * *

When the movie was over, Gabriella turned her head around to find that Troy had fallen fast asleep, his hand in the practically empty popcorn bowl and one arm still firmly hugging her waist.

"Troy," Gabriella said as she playfully smacked Troy's head with the palm of her hand.

"Ow!" Troy exclaimed as his eyes shot open and one of his hands flew to the spot that had just been hit. "Brie, what was that for?"

Gabriella giggled. "The movie's over, and it's almost eleven o' clock. I think we'd better start getting ready to go to bed since I have to be up and ready by noon tomorrow to visit my mom."

"I thought I felt the nightmare vanish a minute ago," Troy said, sitting up and making his girlfriend slip off his lap.

"When did you fall asleep, Troy? I didn't even notice you'd dozed off."

"The last thing I remember was you loudly singing along to some song with that blonde girl and guy," Troy answered.

"_I Want it All?_ I love that song!"

"I guess that's what it's called; I dunno." Troy shrugged. "All I know is that it was irritating and made me sleepy." He yawned.

"Alright," Gabriella sighed. "Well, let's just go upstairs, get ready for bed, and go to sleep. Your clothes are in my closet." She turned off the TV and began heading up the stairs.

Troy tiredly trudged after Gabriella. When they both reached her room, he shut the door behind them and grabbed his clothes from their spot in her closet.

"Okay, Troy," Gabriella started as she snatched her pajamas. "I'm gonna change in my bathroom. Don't just come in there like you did earlier tonight."

"I won't," Troy promised.

Once Gabriella got on her pajamas, she came out of the bathroom to find Troy sitting on the edge of her bed. "Do you wanna um...share my bed with me tonight? I just kind of want you to."

"Sure. I will," Troy agreed. He pulled back the covers, crawled underneath, and, after Gabriella was there next to him, cuddled her close to him. "Can I um...give you a good night kiss, too?"

"Just on my cheek," Gabriella answered as she reached over to turn out her light.

When Troy and Gabriella had finished exchanging kisses, they laid there in silence for a moment before squeezing their eyes shut and falling into a deep sleep.

* * *

Gabriella walked up to her mother's porch and pressed the lit up doorbell to the left of the clean white door with sunburst windows framing the top.

"Hi, Gabby," Maria greeted with a smile as she swung the front door open and gave her daughter a hug. "Come on in."

"Hi, Mom," Gabriella said, entering the house.

"So, I thought maybe I could take you out shopping today, since I doubt your father would ever want to do that. And then after we're finished, I'll make dinner, we can eat, and I can take you back home," Maria told her daughter.

"Okay, that sounds fun! I need some new jeans, and I have to buy Troy a birthday present since his birthday's Saturday."

"I'll buy you the jeans myself, but did you bring some money with you for the present?"

"Yeah, it's right here in my purse." Gabriella had brought a purse along for something to put her cell phone in, just in case her dad had to call her while she was gone.

Just then, a tall, dark-haired man walked down the stairs. "Hey, honey," he said to Maria as he gave her a kiss. He then looked at Gabriella. "Is this your daughter?"

"Yes, it is," Maria answered. "Samuel, this is Gabriella, and Gabriella, this is Samuel."

Samuel held out one of his hands. "It's nice to meet you, sweetheart."

Gabriella shook her mom's boyfriend's hand. "It's nice to meet you, too," she politely returned. _He doesn't seem too bad,_ she thought to herself.

"Alright, well, I'm going to take her shopping now, so I'll see you in a little bit," said Maria. "Bye."

"Bye." Samuel kissed his girlfriend once more before watching her walk out the door with her daughter.

* * *

"Mom, can I tell you something?" Gabriella asked after dinner, when Samuel was upstairs and she was helping her mother clean up the dishes and leftover chicken, rice, and peas.

"Sure," said Maria. "Go right ahead."

"Troy and I are dating now."

"What?" The stern word sharply sounded from between Maria's lips. "I never gave you permission to date. You're too young for that type of thing." She sighed. "I hate your father. I knew it was bad that he let you go over to Troy's the time, and now that was confirmed. All thanks to him, my baby has a boyfriend."

"I'm not a baby anymore," Gabriella pointed out. "And it's fine. All Troy and I did so far was go to the homecoming dance together, and we were going to do that as friends, anyway." She shrugged. "Then for his birthday, we're going to the movies."

"I guess that's not too bad, but just _please_ don't have sleepovers with him anymore, and don't you dare change in front of him. I've been at least slightly been uncomfortable with you two getting into your pajamas and stuff in the same room ever since you were over the age of seven, and it really began making me nervous when you started wearing bras. You're a girl and he's a boy; he doesn't need to see your parts and you, for that matter, have no reason to see his."

"Mom, relax," Gabriella said. "Now that we're together, we _don't _change in the same room, and while we do still have sleepovers, we just do what we've always done while sleeping over at one another's houses."

"You'd better not do anything besides that," Maria warned.

"We won't," Gabriella promised.

"And now I need to tell you something."

"What?"

"You're gonna have a brother or sister!" Maria exclaimed happily. "Because I'm pregnant!"

"I...It's Samuel's child, though, isn't it?" Gabriella cautiously ventured, though she was sure what the answer that was to come would be.

"Of course! Your father and I haven't done anything together for at least a year. But does it really matter that the baby doesn't have the same father as you? No! Why would it? At least I'm having this child with someone I love."

Tears threatened to spring to Gabriella's eyes as she began to feel unwanted and hurt by her mother. It made her sad to hear her mom talk badly about her father in front of her, and since she was her father's child rather than Samuel's, she felt as if she would never be as good as the new baby that was on its way.

"I'm gonna walk home now. I need the exercise," Gabriella mumbled. Her mom's house was only, while walking, a little over half an hour away from her dad's, so it was possible for her to make it home before dark.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Nothing." With that, Gabriella walked out of the kitchen, grabbed the bags full of the things she had gotten while out shopping that day, and stepped out the door.

* * *

**I know a lot happened in this chapter, and this is a little section of drama stuff, but every story has to have some conflicts, though I don't plan to make anything real heavy. Her mom probably is acting a little ridiculous, and I hope she's not being too unrealistic. And I know, watching **_**High School Musical**_**...probably not the smartest thing to put in here, but I couldn't help myself!**

**I LOVE you guys! *hug* In only 6 chapters, I got 73 reviews! I'm so happy! I'm hoping to reach 100 in less than ten chapters, and I think I'll actually make it! And I have a goal list on my profile, and one is to get at least 500 reviews on this story, and since this is going to be a long story, and you guys are totally awesome, I think I'll reach it! I never expected this story to do as good as it's doing now. I was expecting about 36 reviews or so by this chapter, to tell you the truth. So this was a great surprise!**

**So anyway...now that I'm done getting all my excitement out...please review:)**


	8. Troy's Birthday

**Okay, before I start this chapter, I just want to remind you that this is a mainly friendship/romance fic. It does have quite a few fluffy chapters, and both this one, the next one, and maybe a couple more after that will be full of fluff. So don't like? There's the little x you may click on the corner that will take you away from this page.**

* * *

"Happy birthday, Troy!" Gabriella exclaimed as she tossed her arms about her boyfriend the second the clock struck midnight. He was spending the night at her house, and she had insisted upon staying awake until twelve in the morning so she could be the first to wish him a happy birthday.

"Thanks," Troy smiled, returning Gabriella's embrace.

"So, are you ready to open your present from me?"

"I've been waiting for that since my last birthday, so yes, I'm ready. No wait, I'm more than ready." He laughed as he released his girlfriend so she could go retrieve his gift from the spot she had hidden it.

Gabriella dashed up to her room, drew her present from the drawer she had placed it in, and hurried back downstairs. "Here you go," she said as she placed the gift in Troy's hands.

Troy ripped off the wrapping paper to reveal a box. Upon opening that, he discovered a brand new Lakers' jersey. "Thank you so much, Brie," he smiled as he pulled Gabriella close to him. "You don't know how much I love it."

"You're welcome," Gabriella responded, leaning her head against Troy's shoulder.

"I think I'm actually gonna wear this tomorrow...well, technically today, but..."

Gabriella giggled. "Awesome."

"So, are you ready to get to bed?"

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah."

Troy followed Gabriella up the stairs and into her room, where the two got ready for bed, then hopped underneath Gabriella's covers, snuggling close to each other as they did.

"I'm so sleepy," Gabriella said with a yawn.

"Me, too." Troy paused. "Well, good night, then." He touched his lips to his girlfriend's cheek.

Gabriella returned Troy's gesture. "Good night to you, too."

* * *

When Troy and Gabriella awoke around ten thirty the next morning, they got all ready and went downstairs to eat breakfast. Once they were finished with that, they walked over to Troy's house.

"Happy birthday, Troy!" Jack and Lucille said as they saw their son walk through the door.

"Thanks," Troy responded.

After Troy's parents greeted Gabriella, Jack said, "Now Troy, you know how the Lakers are playing their first home game today?"

Troy nodded.

"Well, start getting ready to take a short flight to California because you're going to see it! And Gabriella's coming with us if Mr. Montez says it's alright. Also, we'll be staying overnight in a hotel, then coming back tomorrow afternoon."

"Really?" Troy's eyes lit up with excitement. "Thank you so much! Come on, Brie, let's go talk to your dad."

Gabriella eagerly followed Troy out the front door and back to her house. Her father gave her permission to go with the Boltons, so she got some things she would need together, then she and Troy walked back to Troy's place.

"I'm gonna get my things together," Troy announced the second he stepped through the door.

"Okay," Lucille responded. "But we have another hour or so before we have to leave."

"Alright. Well, I just want to be prepared." With those words, Troy disappeared upstairs and into his bedroom along with Gabriella.

* * *

When Troy, Gabriella, and Troy's parents arrived at the Lakers' stadium that evening, Troy and Gabriella were both filled with visible excitement. Even though Gabriella wasn't a huge basketball fan, she still enjoyed watching it somewhat, and being in California was a bonus.

"Alright, let's find our seats," Jack said.

After wandering around the seemingly endless rows of chairs, the ones the Boltons had bought tickets for were found.

"I'm so excited for this game to start," Troy remarked as he sat down.

"Do you want any food to eat during it?" Lucille asked. "I'll go grab some things if you do."

"I want a cheeseburger," Troy answered. "And some chips. Oh! And also a soft pretzel."

"I'll have two cheeseburgers and a big bag of chips," Jack replied.

"And can I just have a soft pretzel, please?" Gabriella requested.

"You have a nice, easy order, Gabriella," Lucille remarked. "Unlike these two." She pointed to Troy and Jack. "Anyway, can someone come to help me carry this stuff? The game won't start for another fifteen minutes or so."

"I'll come," Gabriella offered.

"Oh! I want a large Pepsi, too," said Jack.

"I want some of that, too," Troy echoed. "And I want mine with extra ice."

Lucille sighed. "Can't you just settle for a bottle of water?"

Jack and Troy exchanged shocked glances before turning their faces to Lucille. "No," they both answered at the same time.

"Alright. Well, I guess we'd better get going, Gabriella."

Gabriella rose from her seat and followed Lucille out to the snack area. Luckily, they had boxes to put the food in if someone had a large amount of it, so those took away some of the difficulty of carrying things. However, both Gabriella and Lucille had to hold a box full of food, plus a soda, since if the cups went in the boxes, they had a large chance of spilling, so it was still a bit hard to keep everything in their hands.

"We're back," Lucille announced as she and Gabriella arrived at the seats they had been sitting in.

Troy and Jack jumped from their spots and snatched their food from the boxes and their sodas from Lucille and Gabriella.

"Yes!" Troy exclaimed suddenly. "These burgers are huge! Want some, Brie?"

Just as Gabriella was about to reply, the basketball game began, causing Troy to cheer loudly, and not long after he started, Jack joined in.

"Can you two settle down?" Lucille requested. "Nothing's really going on right now that you need to shout about."

"Okay, Mom," Troy agreed reluctantly before turning toward Gabriella. "Brie, you've _got_ to try this burger. It's the best thing ever." He handed his already half-eaten item to her.

Gabriella took a small bite from her boyfriend's food before handing it back to him. "You're right; it is good."

"Can I have some of your pretzel?"

"Troy, you have your own," Gabriella pointed out. "And besides that, you have a whole load of food while this pretzel is the only thing I have."

"Fine." Troy pretended to be irritated.

* * *

"Alright," Lucille said after the game was over. "How about we go back to the hotel and have some of the birthday cake I brought along?"

"Okay," everyone agreed.

"I'm so happy the Lakers won tonight," Troy remarked as he exited the stadium with his parents and Gabriella.

"Me, too," said Gabriella. "I was hoping they would since it's your birthday, and it would suck if they lost, especially since you were actually watching them play live." She rushed to catch up to her boyfriend, who had gotten a little way ahead of her, and grabbed his hand.

"Yeah, I know. I would hate it if they lost."

The rest of the way to the car and the entire way to the hotel, Troy and Gabriella talked about their experience that evening. When they reached the place they were to stay, they hurried in and rushed to the correct room with Troy's parents. They had stopped there before the game to drop off their things, so they knew exactly where it was.

"Brie, can we sleep on this bed?" Troy asked, pointing to the king-sized bed closest to the fairly small bathroom.

"Sure," Gabriella said.

"Do you want cake now or later?" Lucille asked after taking off her jacket and placing it in her suitcase.

"Now," Troy, Gabriella, and Jack all answered instantly.

"Okay," Lucille responded with a laugh as she drew the cake from a bag and set it on the table that was situated in the corner of the room. "Now, I guess we'll just have to sing 'Happy Birthday' without candles since the airport wouldn't let us bring a lighter on board the plane."

"That's fine," said Troy.

"Alright. Well then, do you all wanna come over here so we can sing and eat?"

Everyone walked over to the table and took a look at the cake. It was a two layer chocolate one with fudge frosting on which dark chocolate chips spelled out the words, 'Happy 15th Birthday, Troy!'

"This is great," Troy remarked as he took a bite out of his food once everyone had sung to him and he had gotten his slice of cake.

"I know," Gabriella agreed once she had gotten to try some for herself.

"I'm having the best birthday ever."

"That's good," Gabriella smiled.

* * *

In a couple hours, Troy's parents announced that they were tired and wanted to go bed, which meant that Troy and Gabriella had to get to sleep, too, because if they didn't, they would be talking and laughing and end up making Jack and Lucille angry.

"You can use the bathroom first," Troy told Gabriella.

Gabriella took her pajamas into the bathroom, changed into them, brushed her teeth, then came out and allowed Troy to do the same. Once they were both ready, they climbed into the bed that was theirs, pulled the covers over them, and snuggled up to each other.

"Good night," Troy murmured as his arms securely wound around his girlfriend's waist.

"Good night," Gabriella returned as she leaned up to kiss Troy's cheek.

"No, not tonight," Troy refused in a soft whisper just as Gabriella's lips were about to come in contact with his skin. "My parents are here."

"What are you saying about us?" Jack asked, apparently overhearing a part of his son's sentence.

"Nothing," Troy responded quickly as he reached over and switched the lamp between the two beds off, causing a darkness to sweep over the room.

"Troy, wanna do something tomorrow morning before we have to leave?" Gabriella inquired.

"Sure," Troy replied. "Maybe we can go to the beach. I heard there's one within walking distance of this hotel."

"That sounds great, but I didn't bring a bathing suit with me."

"It's alright. I have my shorts that I sleep in, plus I brought my bathing suit in case there was a pool in this hotel, so you can wear my shorts and I can give you one of my t-shirts."

"Make sure it's not white," Gabriella warned. "I don't wanna wear something that can go see-through when it gets wet."

"I'll give you a black one," Troy decided. "And I think we should bring our jackets because I'm sure we'll get cold."

"Yeah, probably."

"Troy and Gabriella, can you two stop talking?" Lucille requested.

"We'll try," Troy responded.

Gabriella let out a giggle at Troy's response as she cuddled further into him, buried her face in his chest, and closed her eyes.

* * *

The next morning, Troy and Gabriella arrived at the beach alone. Troy's parents had wanted to go somewhere else, so the two teenagers weren't under supervision at the moment.

"I'll race you to the ocean!" Troy shouted suddenly before sprinting off toward the salty blue water a little bit of a distance in front of him.

"Hey, no fair! You didn't wait for me to be ready!" Gabriella yelled in protest as she chased after her boyfriend, who was currently falling into the ocean water upon reaching it.

"Well, I won!" Troy announced, standing up. "And I'm soaked already." He looked down at his sopping wet clothing. "Which means I have to get you soaked." He playfully pushed his girlfriend, causing her to fall backward into the frigid water.

"This is freezing!" Gabriella remarked as she instantly rose from the position Troy had pushed her down in and crossed her arms over her chest, trying to keep the chill of the wind that was blowing right in her direction away. "How did you stand being in it?"

"You think I wasn't-and am not-cold?" Troy asked teasingly. "I'm shivering."

"Okay, then, well maybe going in the ocean was a bad idea. How about we sit in the sand and talk or something?"

"Alright," Troy agreed as he followed Gabriella over to a sunny area in the dry sand.

"So, are you happy you're a year older now?"

"I don't really care." Troy shrugged. "It's not like I feel any older or have any more privileges than I did before."

"Yeah. That's how I felt when I turned fourteen, and I'm pretty sure I'll feel the same way when I turn fifteen," Gabriella said while nodding slowly in understanding.

"Hey, I know this is going to be totally off topic, but us being here just made me think of something. Remember when we were five and went to a beach for the first time?"

Gabriella giggled at the memory. "Yeah, of course I do."

_"I'm gonna push you in the big lake!" Troy shouted, chasing after Gabriella._

_"It's not a lake, it's a beach!" Gabriella corrected with a giggle. She didn't use the right name for the ocean since she could never remember it, so she just called it a beach, since she knew the place in its entirety was named that._

_"Then I'm gonna push you in the beach!"_

_"No, because I'm gonna dump sand down your shirt," Gabriella announced. Troy had bad sunburn, so his parents had told him he needed to wear a t-shirt that day to protect his bright red shoulders from getting even redder._

_"Don't do that!" Troy shouted._

_Gabriella didn't listen to Troy's words, as she ran up to him, grabbed his arm, snatched a handful of sand from the ground beneath her, and slid it down his shirt. _

_"Brie!" Troy yelled, taking some sand for himself and dumping it down the back of her bathing suit. _

_"I'm gonna get you again!" Gabriella took more sand, this time in the little bucket that was right next to her but belonged to a different child, and poured it down her friend's shirt._

_"Where'd you get that bucket from?" Troy asked._

_"It's someone else's," Gabriella replied as she dropped the object she was holding. "Now I'll race you to the beach!"_

_Troy began running as fast as he could in the direction of the ocean, Gabriella only a couple paces behind him. Upon reaching it, he sat down and began to splash around in it. When his friend caught up to him, she took a seat beside him and started cupping water in her hands and dropping it all over herself and Troy._

_"Troy, Gabriella! It's time to go!" called Troy and Gabriella's fathers._

_The two five-year-olds stood up and ran over to where their dads were standing alongside their moms._

_"Mommy, I have sand all over me," Troy whined._

_"Me, too," Gabriella echoed._

_Lucille and Maria both let out a deep sigh. "Well, I don't know what we're gonna do now because you're not dragging it into the car," Maria said. _

_"How about we go to the bathroom down in that direction?" Lucille pointed to the right. "There's a shower in there. Maybe we could try to rinse them off in that."_

_"Well, while you two try and get our children clean, Jack and I will start loading up the stuff and taking it to the car," said David. _

_"Okay," Maria responded as she grabbed Troy and Gabriella's towels for them to dry off with and, taking her daughter's hand, began walking to the right, Lucille and Troy following her._

_Upon reaching the bathroom, which was luckily one of the large family ones, the two mothers and their children went inside of it and locked the door._

_"You two are always getting dirty," Lucille remarked before turning toward her son. "Can you take your shirt off so we can shake the sand out of it?"_

_Troy began to cry as he lifted his shirt over his head. "It h-hurts."_

_Gabriella began to giggle as she saw her friend's bright red skin. "You have sunburn! You have sunburn!"_

_"It's not funny!" Troy shouted as he smacked Gabriella's arm._

_"Hey. Don't hit," Lucille scolded firmly._

_Troy responded with a pout._

_"Mommy, Troy dumped sand down my bathing suit," Gabriella told Maria._

_"Well, take it off and I'll try to shake it out really good."_

_Gabriella slipped out of her swimsuit and handed it to her mother. It was then that the mixture of water and sand that was clinging to her back could be seen._

_"Gabby, what did you do?" Maria asked, surprised._

_"I didn't do anything. Troy just put sand down my back."_

_"Troy Bolton!" Lucille said sharply._

_"But Brie put it down my shirt," Troy protested._

_"Gabriella Montez!" scolded Maria. "I thought you knew better than that! You don't dump sand down people's shirts! Now come on. Let's get you rinsed off in the shower over here." _

"Yeah, that was hilarious!" Troy remarked. "Well, not when it was happening, of course."

"Yeah," Gabriella agreed with a giggle.

"So, do you want to go back in the ocean?"

"You mean the freezing mass of water? No, thanks, Troy."

"I dare you." Troy shot a playful smile in his girlfriend's direction.

"Well, I dare you," came Gabriella's response.

"I dared you first, Brie, so that means you need to do it."

"No it doesn't. You're stronger than me; you're a guy. You can tolerate the cold better than I can," said Gabriella in her most convincing tone as she put on a pleading pout and looked Troy straight in the eye.

"I hate that I chose to spoil you," Troy sighed as he rose from the sand and began to walk toward the ocean.

Gabriella let out a giggle. "Well, I'm thrilled to be your spoiled girlfriend."

* * *

**This isn't my favorite chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway. Thanks to VampxLover and Zac is my. Life for helping me with it! And I have a new oneshot/songfic out called _Wouldn't Change a Thing, _so if you wanna check that out, you can. It's not in my oneshot collection because it's a songfic, just to let you all know that.**

**URGENT URGENT URGENT**

**I will be, unfortunately, going back to school Monday, so my updates will be further apart. I have no idea how far apart. It could be a couple weeks, could be a month:( The beginning of the year might not be so bad, but once I start getting tons of homework and all my dance classes and rehearsals start, I don't know how often I'll be able to write. I might get one more out before I start school, but after that, my update schedule will be crazy, and I plan to take a month long hiatus sometime during the year because I'll get unbearably busy at one point since I'll be going away to Washington DC to perform with my dance studio, and preparations for that will overwhelm me along with the drama stuff I have to do and the fact that I'll be on vacation in DC for a few days due to the dance thing, so I hope you can all deal with me. LOL.**

**Please review:)**


	9. Basketball Game

**Okay, I was wrong. This isn't a super fluffy chapter (it still has some fluff in!), but the next one is. Sorry about the mix-up! And again, this story isn't supposed to be very dramatic! It's a FRIENDSHIP/ROMANCE! And by romance, I mean lots of fluff! If you don't like it, you can click out!** **No matter what anyone says, I refuse to change how I'm writing this! I suck at writing drama, so trust me-you don't want to read dramatic fics from me!**

* * *

The night of the Wildcats' first basketball game arrived. Troy and Gabriella were standing beside each other in the gym, Troy in his red home game uniform and red and white sneakers, and Gabriella in her red and white cheerleading costume and white sneakers. In her hands, she held two red and gold pom poms, and in her dark curls, which were pulled into a high ponytail, she wore a crimson ribbon that wrapped securely around her hair tie.

"Alright, everyone!" called Coach Welsh, Troy's basketball coach.

"I gotta go, Brie. I'll talk to you after the game," Troy said as he briefly embraced his girlfriend before running off to meet up with the rest of his teammates.

Gabriella, now all alone, wandered up to the rest of the cheerleaders. Before, she would've been afraid of not having her boyfriend by her side because she would be nervous Chad would bother her and not stop when she asked him to, but he had, after her father had discussed the whole homecoming disaster with the principal, been suspended from East High until April, so she felt safer in school.

"Troy Bolton will be _mine,_" Carissa was bragging to her friends, who were all surrounding her and gossiping about the looks the basketball players had given them that week in school.

"Um, isn't Troy Gabriella's boyfriend, though?" Martha ventured.

"Shut it," Carissa demanded. "I'm well aware of the fact that Troy's with her. But I _will_ win him over. I always do. I mean, I have everything he would want! I'm gorgeous, I was the head cheerleader in middle school and plan to have the same status here once I'm a senior, I have flawless skin, long legs, and I cheer the loudest out of every one of you."

"Did you know that Gabriella's right behind us?" asked Martha as all the other cheerleaders began agreeing with their friend.

"No, I didn't," Carissa responded, looking around until she caught sight of the brunette girl standing a few feet away from the rest of the group. Putting on her best falsely kind smile and using her 'sweet' voice, she said, "Hi, Gabriella! Why don't you come on over here and talk with us?"

"N-No, thanks," Gabriella stammered in reply as she dejectedly walked over to the bench the cheerleaders sat on during time-outs and took a seat.

"What's wrong with her?" inquired a tall junior named Rachel.

"I think you guys are upsetting her," Martha spoke up. "You probably made her feel that she's not good enough to date Troy."

"Well, she's not! That's the point!" Carissa shouted.

"I'm gonna go talk to her," Martha decided as she left the giggling group of cheerleaders and sat down beside Gabriella. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Gabriella shook her head no as a tear trickled down her cheek.

"You know, you shouldn't listen to Carissa. She's just making things up. I've seen you and Troy together, and _I_ think you're perfect for him. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy that would even think about going out with someone like Carissa."

"Thanks," said Gabriella with a smile as she lifted her head to look at the girl beside her.

"No problem. Now, since I'm assuming I'm kicked out of the 'cool' group for defending you, maybe we could be friends. I know a couple other girls I could introduce you to, and I have a boyfriend-and so does one of my friends-that I think Troy would get along perfectly with. Also, I see you two sitting all alone at lunch every day, so do you think you would like to sit at my table next week?"

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah! Thanks for the offer. I'll tell Troy about it, and on Monday, we'll meet you at the doors of the cafeteria."

"Okay, sounds good! Now, I think we're starting really soon, so we'd better start getting into our spots."

"Alright." Gabriella rose from her seat and followed Martha over to the other girls.

"Good evening!" sounded a loud voice through a speaker. "Welcome to the first ever Wildcats' basketball game of the season!"

All the Wildcat fans in the audience cheered, including Troy's parents and Gabriella's father. Her dad was the only one of her parents who had come because Maria hadn't wanted to since she didn't want to run into David, to whom she had, by that time, officially divorced.

"Tonight our home team will be going against the North High Blasters!" the announcer said into the microphone he was holding.

The family and friends of the Blasters took their turn to cheer.

"Alright, well, we're gonna get this game started!"

The Wildcats and the Blasters ran onto the gym floor, shouting and jumping in delight while tossing the warm-up jackets they had worn during pre-game stretches onto their respective benches.

Once the two players that were playing the position of center were face to face in the middle of the gym, the present referee tossed the ball into the air.

The Blasters player claimed the battered orange object as his almost immediately.

"We're so quick, we're so fast, we make the other team sick, when we blast!" shouted the cheerleaders for the other team as they did a few sloppy pirouettes while their orange and yellow pom poms shot up in the air above their heads and their mostly blonde ponytails swished.

"W-I-L-D, Go Wildcats!" the Wildcat cheerleaders yelled, Carissa jumping in front of everyone else and doing unrehearsed cartwheels, splits, and triple spins. When she received the applause from the audience that she had expected, she did a couple curtseys and bows, then slipped back into her assigned place.

"No," Coach Lane mouthed, shaking her head, as she caught the eye of the unruly cheerleader.

Carissa shot her coach an angry glare before continuing on with her earsplitting cheers.

"And the Wildcats steal the ball from the Blasters," the announcer said as a player called Nate managed to get the ball away from the opposing team.

"It's okay, it's alright, we know you won't give up without a fight!" the Blasters cheerleaders shouted while they made attempts to do fouettes. The older, more experienced ones were pretty good at them, but the girls who weren't as familiar with cheerleading couldn't do them as well.

"You can do this, you can beat North High! Because before we've seen you Wildcats touch the sky!" the Wildcats cheerleaders called out while trying to copy the move the North High cheerleaders were performing. Like them, some of the girls could do it real well, while others had a bit of trouble.

"And North High captures the ball again!" the announcer spoke clearly.

"Yay!" screamed the Blasters cheerleaders. "We knew you could, we knew you would, 'cause we know that you blast, and we know you move fast!" The girls did some pencil jumps, spun around sharply, and waved their pom poms in the air.

"And Rob Drale shoots and scores!" the announcer reported as the ball slid through the Wildcats' hoop, causing them to be two points behind.

"We're the best, we're number one, we make those Wildcats melt in the sun!" yelled the Blasters cheerleaders.

As Gabriella cheered, she noticed Troy's dejected face. Flashing him a smile, then putting both her pom poms in one hand so she could give him a thumbs up, she mouthed, "You're doing great! Don't worry!"

Troy returned his girlfriend's smile before beginning to focus on his game again.

* * *

There were only two minutes left on the ticking clock.

All the basketball players on the gym floor had sweat pouring down their faces, some of them panting heavily, struggling to catch their breath. The ones on the bench that had played earlier in the game cheered their teammates on. The cheerleaders from both teams had slowed down, as they were running out of energy and fairly gasping for breath. Their cheers had transformed from high energy chants with furious dancing and a few stunts to nearly monotone, half-hoarse shouts of encouragement and only a few waves of pom poms.

Troy, who was on the bench since he had played enough in the first two quarters of the game, looked up at the scoreboard to see it read that his team was losing sixty-eight to fifty-nine. Sighing, he shook his head and thought to himself, _There's no way we're gonna win this one._

And unfortunately, Troy's thought was proved to be right. When the buzzer sounded, signaling that the game had come to a halt, the Wildcats had earned only scored two more points than they had a couple minutes ago, meaning the Blasters still held the highest score.

"It's okay," Gabriella comforted as she walked up to Troy and game him a hug. "You can't win them all."

Troy returned his girlfriend's embrace. "Yeah, I know, but I guess I just couldn't help but be disappointed that we couldn't beat the other team in our first game."

"Don't worry; I'm not thrilled about the loss, either," Gabriella giggled.

"Alright, well, I have to get to the locker room and shower. Do you have to change or anything?"

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah. But I don't think I have to shower...well at least, I hope I don't. There's no way I'm doing that in a room where nine other girls are, especially when one of those girls is Carissa. I already change in the bathroom."

"I don't blame you," Troy said. "Carissa scares me."

As if on cue, as soon as Troy had spoken his words, Carissa appeared. "Great game!" she exclaimed as she tossed her arms about him, only to back up almost instantly and crinkle her nose. "Ew. You smell. I'll finish congratulating you after you have a shower."

"In that case, I'll never shower again," Troy muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Carissa asked in the falsely sweet tone she used a little too often.

"It was nothing." Gabriella didn't fail to defend her boyfriend.

"Don't stick your nose into _our_ personal business," Carissa sneered as she stuck her glaring face only inches away from Gabriella's bewildered one. "You may be together with Troy now, but we'll see if things will stay the way they are by the end of basketball season."

Gabriella didn't respond.

"And FYI, I wouldn't recommend coming to the after party we're having at my place to celebrate the opening basketball game. It's for VIPs _only._"

"I-I wasn't planning on going anyway," Gabriella stammered.

"Good." With a satisfied smirk settled on her glossed lips, Carissa wheeled around sharply and walked off toward the locker room.

"Hey, Gabriella," Martha greeted as she ran up to her new friend while a few others followed her. "My friends came to the game tonight, so I thought I'd introduce them to you and Troy."

"Oh, okay."

"This is Taylor, Sharpay, Kelsi, Ryan, and Jason," Martha said as she indicated each person while saying their name. Taylor was a cheerful, slender, relatively short-but not as short as Gabriella-African American girl who had her dark, wavy hair tied into two low ponytails, both of them draped across her shoulders, while Sharpay was a total opposite. Tall, fair-skinned, and blonde, she wore bold colors with tons of glitter in them, which was quite a contrast to the plain clothes Taylor was wearing. Kelsi was a girl even shorter than Gabriella who appeared to be slightly shy, wore thin-rimmed glasses, and had light brown curls that reached her shoulders. Ryan looked like the male version of Sharpay, only his eyes were blue rather than brown, and Jason was a fairly tall guy with dark, shaggy hair and a confused expression.

"Hi," Gabriella and Troy both greeted.

"And this is Troy and Gabriella," Martha said to her group of friends.

Everyone greeted Troy and Gabriella and complimented them on their great jobs playing and cheerleading in the game that had just finished.

"Jason's my boyfriend," Martha continued once all the teenagers had quieted down, "And Ryan, who's Sharpay's twin brother, is dating Kelsi at the moment."

Troy and Gabriella nodded in acknowledgement.

"I heard there's some sort of after party tonight that's for supposed VIPs only," Martha began after a moment of silence, "And since we're all most likely not considered VIPs, I was thinking maybe, if you guys all wanted to, you could come over to my place for some pizza and ice cream."

"That sounds good!" Gabriella responded. "I just need to ask my dad about it."

"I'll go if my parents say it's alright," said Troy.

"Alright, then."

Troy and Gabriella rushed off to find their parents. They all said it was okay for Troy and Gabriella to go to Martha's place, so the two teenagers rushed back to their new companions and reported what their parents' replies had been.

"Okay, cool," Martha said. "I live on the street right across from here, so you can just walk with us all over to my house as soon as you're ready to go."

"I just need to shower and we both have to change," Troy said. "So we should just be about ten minutes or so."

"I have to change, too, so I guess I'll meet you guys back in the gym, then?"

Troy and Gabriella both nodded, then went off to get ready to go to their new friend's house.

* * *

"I love your hair, Gabriella!" Sharpay complimented when all the teenagers were sitting in Martha's living room eating pepperoni pizza. "Are those curls natural or do you use a curling iron?"

"Thanks," Gabriella smiled. "And yes, my hair's naturally curly. I did straighten it once, but Troy hated it, so I'm never doing it again."

"Hey, don't blame me too much, Brie," Troy, who was seated beside Gabriella and cuddling her close to him with the hand that wasn't being used to eat the pizza on his plate, said as he placed a kiss onto her forehead. "It's not my fault that you're pretty without doing anything to yourself."

"I guess I should take that as a compliment?" Gabriella surmised as she playfully nuzzled Troy's arm before resting her cheek on his shoulder.

"Probably," Troy replied as he took a bite of his pizza.

"So, what are your favorite subjects in school?" Taylor asked.

"Literature and algebra," Gabriella replied. "What about you?"

"Algebra and science," Taylor answered. "Though I do have to say, Chad Danforth used to be my lab partner before he got suspended, and I didn't like that too much. He always tried to touch me in inappropriate spots."

"He did that to me, too," Gabriella said. "And at the homecoming dance he actually did, so I told my dad, he called the school about it, and Chad got suspended."

"Chad's an idiot," Taylor concluded.

"Troy, what sport do play again?" Jason asked, earning an eye roll from his girlfriend.

"You know, Jason," Martha began, "It's not against the law to use your brain sometimes. You just saw Troy play basketball tonight! Did you forget that quickly?"

"Uh...no," Jason answered.

Everyone in the room began to laugh.

"What's so funny, guys?" Jason inquired as he scanned the room with a blank face.

Martha let out a deep sigh as she hid her face in her hands. "Jason, can you _ever_ have any ideas about what's going on around you?"

"Well, we're all at your house, and we're eating pizza with some round spicy things on it that I really don't care for but am eating anyway because I don't feel like picking them off," said Jason with a shrug.

"You mean the pepperoni?" Martha let out a groan. "Sometimes, Jase, it's really hard to believe you're in high school."

After another round of laughter and more clueless glances from Jason, everyone finished up their pizza, tossed their paper plates and napkins in the trash, then grabbed sugar cones out of the box that was resting on the kitchen counter and filled them with an ice cream flavor of their choice. The different options were chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, cookies and cream, and chocolate chip cookie dough. Troy and Gabriella picked cookies and cream, Martha selected a mixture of chocolate and vanilla, Ryan and Jason both got chocolate chip cookie dough, Kelsi chose vanilla, Taylor got chocolate, and Sharpay picked strawberry.

"So, are any guys gonna be daring enough to go against me for the leading role in this year's musical?" Ryan inquired as he licked his ice cream.

"Stop it, Ry," Sharpay scolded. "You're acting superior to everyone else."

Ryan ignored his sister. "I always play the lead male, and Sharpay usually gets the part of the leading female, though a couple years she didn't."

"I told you to stop bragging!" said Sharpay as an irritated glare appeared on her face.

"Okay, okay," Ryan responded with an eye roll and a sigh. After taking a moment to pause, he asked again, "Are any of you trying out for this year's musical?"

"No," everyone except Sharpay answered.

"Oh, well, drama's really fun. You should all try it sometime; you're really missing out on a wonderful experience," said Ryan in his most convincing voice.

"I couldn't see myself singing and dancing on stage," Gabriella whispered in Troy's ear. "I mean, I do cheerleading, but I don't think I would be able to talk by myself in front of an audience."

"Me, neither," Troy returned in a soft tone.

"Okay, let's move on to a different subject," Martha suggested. "Who's planning on going to the Christmas dance? My older brother that's in college now said they have one at East High every year on the second Saturday in December. We should start hearing about it at school soon."

"I don't know," Gabriella replied. "The last dance I was at, I didn't really have a good time." She shrugged.

"Me, neither," Troy agreed. "And it wasn't just because Chad was there. All these teenagers I didn't know were making out and some guys were touching the girls, a lot of them were disrespectful-especially toward the freshman-and it was awfully loud with all the laughter and stuff. And besides, I don't even know how to dance."

"I didn't think it was too bad," Martha shrugged.

"I hated it," Taylor said as she made a disgusted face. "I didn't have anyone to dance with, Chad was all over me for half the evening, and two seniors shoved me out of the way. I would've rather stayed home and did some science experiments."

"In my opinion, it was fun," came Sharpay's voice. "But yet again, everything I get to dress up for is fun."

"Ryan and I actually went to the music room so I could help him work on his singing for the musical auditions," said Kelsi. "After about fifteen minutes of being in that crowded gym, we just couldn't bear it."

"It was the most horrible thing I ever experienced," Jason commented. "I had to dress up, dance, and listen to weird music. The only reason I went in the first place was because Martha had to go and beg me to come."

"But I wanted to experience a high school dance!" Martha defended.

"Okay, let's drop this subject," Sharpay said before an argument broke out.

Troy just then noticed that the clock on the wall said it was eleven o' clock. "Brie, I think we should go," he told Gabriella as he pulled her close to him with one arm and leaned down to touch his lips to the top of her head. "It's getting late."

"Aw, you're leaving?" Martha said in disappointment. "Do you need my phone to call someone to come get you?"

Troy nodded. "Yeah, thanks; that would be great."

After calling his dad to come get him and Gabriella, Troy returned to his group of friends and took a seat beside Gabriella. "We're having a sleepover tonight, right?" he checked as he playfully tugged on one of her curls, then let go, allowing it to spring back into place.

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah. And then tomorrow evening we're watching Kayla." Kayla was a kindergartener in Troy and Gabriella's neighborhood that they had been asked to baby sit for.

"Oh, right." Troy touched his lips to Gabriella's cheek. "You look sleepy."

"Hey, do you mind?" Ryan asked as he witnessed Troy's gesture.

"Look who's talking," Sharpay pointed out. "Every time Kelsi's at our house, you're kissing her every time I look over. Once you even did it in front of Mom! I mean, you're way worse than Troy!"

Ryan's cheeks tinted a little bit. "Does everyone have to know about this?"

"Like they don't already know."

"Hey, guys," Ryan said loudly, "What Sharpay just said, you didn't hear, okay? Got it?"

* * *

**Okay, so this will be the final update before I start school, so things will start getting a bit slow from here. Plus, on top of school, I just got a job, so that leaves less time for writing. **

**So, what did you think of Troyella finally meeting good friends? Jason and Ryan are both kind of weird/funny, IMO. And could I please have some back to school reviews? **


	10. Babysitting

**First of all, I'd like to give a HAPPY 5TH ANNIVERSARY wish to ZANESSA! This chapter is dedicated to them:) September 1, 2005, they started going out, and now look how much they have done since then! I love you Zanessa! You're my favorite couple! And I hope you get to spend a whole day together with no paparazzi, even if that means I won't get pics of you being cute together:) You two are the reason I'm even on this site. If it weren't for your totally adorable and totally genuine looking Troyella moments in the HSM movies and real life cuteness, I wouldn't be writing fics about Troyella. Even though you're most likely not and probably never will read this, I LOVE YOU GUYS! *hug* And for my readers, I rushed to type this and skipped some of a class in school so I could get it out on their anniversary! If it weren't for them, you guys would probably all be waiting until the weekend came to get this chapter-or maybe even longer!**

**Secondly, I'd like to thank Midnight113 for coming up with Kayla's name. I really appreciate it! And if you have the time, she wrote an awesome twoshot (it's Troyella, of course) that I think you all would enjoy if you read it.**

**And lastly, I'd like to something to this reviewer that's been reviewing anonymously for the past two chapter: Please stop flaming. No matter how much you complain, I'm not changing this story. And if you flame this chapter, I'm blocking anonymous reviews, which wil suck for the kind anonymous reviewers. And then if you flame from your account...I'll block you as a user.**

* * *

Troy and Gabriella sighed and took a seat on the sofa. Kayla's parents had just left not even a minute ago, and already the two teenagers were exhausted. The cheerleading and basketball practices they had gone to that morning had something to do with it, but their sleepiness was mostly caused by all the running around the house Kayla's parents had made them do so they could see where everything was, and her mother's strict instructions had left both of them with a headache:

Make sure she's in bed by eight o' clock. Don't forget to give her one vegetable with dinner. Remember to help her take a bath at six-thirty so she can have time to play in the tub, then watch a either a video or a TV show before she has to go to sleep. Don't let her go to bed without using the bathroom first. If she gets upset, give her favorite stuffed animal to her. And last but not least...no making out in front of her.

Troy and Gabriella had both burst into laughter when Kayla's parents had given them her last command. They hadn't even had their first real kiss yet, let alone make out, and even if they did, why would they be doing it in front of someone's child?

"Gabriella, can you play Barbies with me?" Kayla asked as she ran up to Gabriella with a bin of half-dressed Barbie dolls in her hands.

"Sure," Gabriella agreed with a smile as she slid off the sofa and onto the floor.

Kayla tossed a Barbie without pants in front of Gabriella. "Her shorts are too hard to get on, so I don't like to use them," she explained.

"I can get them on if you want," Gabriella offered.

"Are you sure you would be able to? They're really hard!" said Kayla.

"Well, I'll at least try."

Kayla tossed a pair of tiny denim shorts at her babysitter and watched as she slid them onto the Barbie. "Wow, you can do it!" she squealed as she clapped her small hands. "Now get this dress on this one." She tossed a blonde Barbie along with a pale blue dress in front of Gabriella.

Gabriella put the dress on the Barbie, then handed it back to Kayla. "Here you go."

"Thank you," Kayla responded as she took the toy from Gabriella's hand.

For about half an hour, Gabriella played Barbies with Kayla. At the end of that time, the little girl announced, "I'm hungry. Can you make me dinner?"

"Sure," Gabriella smiled as she rose from the floor. Turning toward Troy, who had put a basketball game on TV, she asked, "Can you keep on eye on Kayla while I start dinner?"

"Sure, Brie," Troy smiled as he peeled his eyes away from the TV screen and fixed them on Gabriella's face.

"Alright. I'll be about ten minutes. I just have to stick the hot dogs Kayla's parents left to eat in the oven and start heating up the corn they want her to eat."

"Okay."

After Gabriella headed into the kitchen, Troy turned to the little girl that was now sitting beside him on the couch. Noticing a pout on her face, he asked, "What's the matter?"

"You're watching basketball just like my daddy does. And I don't like basketball." She took her hand and smacked Troy's arm.

"Don't hit," Troy scolded firmly.

"Put something else on TV right now!" Kayla demanded.

"What do you want to watch?" Troy inquired.

"Barney," Kayla answered as she grabbed the remote that was lying beside her and thrust it into her babysitter's hands. "That's my favorite show in the whole world!" She tossed her hands up in the air to show her enthusiasm.

Troy punched in the number to one of the many channels made especially for young children and, luckily, Barney was just starting.

"Do you like this show?" Kayla asked.

"Yeah," Troy replied. He was only half-lying. He didn't _love_ Barney, but he did like imitating it with Gabriella. Of course, he wouldn't be doing that then because Kayla was present, but if he and Gabriella were the only two watching it at the time, he was sure they would both be repeating the lines Barney and his friends were saying in playful ways.

"My friend likes it, too."

"Okay, I got dinner started," Gabriella announced as she entered the living room again and took a seat on the side of Troy that Kayla wasn't sitting on.

"Hey, Brie," Troy greeted as he wrapped an arm around his girlfriend and hugged her to his side, placing a kiss into her curls as he did so.

"Hey, Troy," Gabriella returned with a light giggle while climbing onto Troy's lap and cuddling against his chest.

"Why are you sitting on his lap?" Kayla inquired as she noticed where Gabriella was.

"Because I like to," Gabriella replied.

"But he's not your daddy!" Kayla cried.

"She's just being silly," Troy told Kayla. "She knows I'm not her daddy, but sometimes she just likes to do this to be funny with me." He then brought his lips down to Gabriella's ear and whispered, "Get off, Brie, okay?"

"I have to go potty," Kayla announced as she hopped up from the sofa and began walking toward the bathroom that was just around the corner.

"Can you go by yourself?" asked Gabriella.

"Yeah."

As soon as Kayla disappeared and had the bathroom door shut behind her, Gabriella turned to Troy with pleading eyes and said, "Can I _please_ stay on your lap? You said you were gonna spoil me, remember?"

"Not that face!" Troy groaned. "You're way too cute when you beg, and you need to stop that or else pretty soon, I'll be punching someone in the nose and getting a detention in school all because you asked me to do so."

A giggle escaped Gabriella's lips. "I wouldn't ask you to punch someone in the nose."

"And how can I be sure of that?"

Gabriella shrugged. "I guess you'll just have to trust me, won't you?" She smiled her sweet, familiar smile.

"I guess so," Troy agreed, pretending to think he was suspicious about trusting his girlfriend.

Gabriella giggled again and cuddled against her boyfriend.

"Hey, don't you have to go check on dinner or something?" Troy asked.

"Yeah." Letting out a sigh, Gabriella reluctantly slid off Troy's lap and walked into the kitchen as Kayla was coming out of the bathroom.

"Gabriella, where are you going?" Kayla asked.

"To check on dinner," Gabriella replied. "Now how about you go back to watching Barney?"

"I'm thirsty," came Kayla's response. "Can I have some apple juice?"

"Sure." Gabriella opened the refrigerator, grabbed a half empty bottle of apple juice, then selected a cup from one of the cabinets situated above her and poured the liquid into it. "Here you go." She handed the cup to Kayla.

"Thank you. I'm going to take it in the living room."

"Are you allowed to have juice in there?"

Kayla nodded as she took a sip of her beverage and began to exit the kitchen.

"Okay," Gabriella said as she opened the oven and took the hot dogs out of it. Once she turned off the stove to allow the corn to stop heating up, she got out plates, forks, and hot dog buns for everyone, then called out, "Dinner's all ready!"

Troy and Kayla walked into the dining room, where Gabriella was already seated. Troy took a seat beside Gabriella, and Kayla sat on the other side of her so that if she needed help with anything, she could help her.

"Could you put a hog dog in my roll for me?" Kayla requested.

"Sure," Gabriella said with a smile.

"Can you put one in my roll for me?" Troy asked.

Gabriella sighed and shot her boyfriend a playful glare. "You're in high school. You can get a hot dog yourself."

"Yeah, you're a big boy!" said Kayla.

"See? She agrees with me."

Troy teasingly rolled his handsome eyes. "Fine. But if I drop it on the table, it's not my fault."

"If you drop it on the table, you're washing the tablecloth," said Gabriella.

Kayla giggled. "Get your hot dog, Troy!" she shouted. "I want to see if you drop it!"

Troy took his fork and used it to pick a hot dog from the plate and put it inside his bun.

"See? You could do it yourself," Gabriella remarked.

"And it's impressive that I did," Troy responded.

* * *

"I want to go outside and play on my swing set," Kayla announced when everyone had finished eating and Troy and Gabriella had cleared all the dishes from the table. "I always play on it after dinner."

"Okay. Troy and I will take you out to use it as soon as you put on some shoes," said Gabriella.

Kayla ran upstairs and returned a moment later with untied soft pink sneakers on her feet. "I can't tie my shoes," she told Troy and Gabriella. "Can one of you tie them for me?"

"I will," Troy volunteered.

"Thank you," Kayla said.

"And you should probably need a jacket out there, too," Gabriella suggested. "Do you have one in this closet?" She pointed to the coat closet that was a little way from the front door.

"Yeah, I have one in there."

Gabriella opened the closet and pulled from it a light purple sweatshirt that appeared to be Kayla's size. "Here you go. You can put this on."

After Troy and Gabriella got their shoes on and everyone was wearing a jacket, they all walked out the back door and into the yard.

"Gabriella, can you push me on the swing?" Kayla requested.

"Sure," Gabriella replied, following Kayla over to the swing set and, after she took a seat on a swing, began to gently push her.

"You're making me go too low," said Kayla. "I wanna go all the way up to the sky!"

"I don't know if you can get you to the sky," Gabriella began, "But I will push you a little bit higher."

"I'm gonna go down the slide," Troy told his girlfriend as he began to climb up the ladder to the large yellow slide that was attached to the side of the swing set.

A giggle emitted from Gabriella's mouth. "Troy, are you serious? I think you're a little big for that slide."

"Am not," Troy protested as he successfully slid down the slide and landed in the soft grass. "See? I didn't even break it."

"Why don't you push Kayla for a little while?" Gabriella offered.

"No! I don't want Troy to push me!" Kayla protested. "I want you to keep pushing me and I want him to go down the slide again! That was funny!" She began to laugh.

"Sure, I'll go down the slide another time," Troy agreed as he began pulling himself up the ladder for the second time.

"You're crazy," Gabriella remarked.

"Well, Kayla wanted me to, and it's our job to make her happy," Troy said.

Kayla giggled as Troy slid down the slide again.

* * *

That evening after Gabriella finished supervising Kayla while she washed herself up in the bathtub and played with her toys for a little while, she took her to her room so she could get into her pajamas, then walked downstairs and told Troy, "It's time for Kayla to watch TV."

"Oh, okay," Troy said, quickly changing the channel from the movie one he had been watching and putting on Sesame Street. "Do you like to watch this, Kayla?" he asked.

Kayla nodded sleepily and laid down on the sofa. After the show was over, Troy and Gabriella both took her up to her room and made sure she went to the bathroom and got settled in bed alright. Once that was done, they went back downstairs and cuddled up together on the sofa.

"What do you wanna do?" Troy inquired.

"How about we put on a movie or something," Gabriella suggested.

Troy turned on the TV and flipped through the channels until he found _Star Wars._ "Can we please watch this? Last time we watched a movie, you picked out _High School Musical._" He placed a kiss on Gabriella's forehead to try to bribe her into saying 'yes.'

"Sure. I'm kind of too sleepy to care what we watch, anyway." She yawned as her head rested on Troy's shoulder and her arms wound about his waist.

"Well, you can't fall asleep just yet. We need to wait for Kayla's parents to get home."

"I know." Gabriella murmured.

After a few minutes of silence, Troy noticed that Gabriella had gone to sleep. Obviously, she must have been a lot more exhausted than he had, for though he was feeling rather tired, he was still managing to keep his eyes open. _I guess I'll carry her home if she doesn't wake up by the time we have to leave,_ he thought to himself as he lightly brushed his fingers over the soft skin of her cheek and used his other hand to gently stroke her curls before placing her in a lying down position next to him and pulling a blanket that was draped over the back of the couch over her. "Sleep well," he murmured as he kissed her one last time.

* * *

**I know the ending was kind of bad, but I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter anyway! It's one of my shorter ones because I didn't have a lot of time to work on it since I wanted to get it out for Zanessa's anniversary. I still can't believe it's been five years!**

**And thank all of you for giving my 122 reviews in only 9 chapters! I love you guys! And for the previous chapter alone I got 17. 17 reviews! I'm so happy! **

**Please review:) **


	11. Halloween

Troy swung the door to his house open to reveal Gabriella standing on his porch in a long yellow dress and matching ballet flats. A small golden tiara was pinned in her dark curls, which were neatly arranged so they were tucked behind her ears and flowing down her back.

It was Halloween night, and Gabriella had chosen to go trick-or-treating as Belle from _Beauty and the Beast._ The costume didn't look childish on her, though, despite the fact that a lot of little girls would go as the same thing. Instead, since it was made especially for teenagers, though seemed to be created for her exclusively, it looked perfect.

Troy could do nothing but stand at the door in his jeans and red Wildcats hoodie, his eyes fixed on his girlfriend and his lips slightly parted in awe.

"Is there something wrong?" Gabriella inquired after a moment of silence.

Troy snapped out of the thoughts he was thinking and quickly began shaking his head. "No, not at all. It's just that you look...um..." He trailed off as his cheeks tinted a slight red. "That costume, it just looks...great on you." Once those words left his mouth, Troy silently scolded himself. In his head he had been describing Gabriella as beautiful, gorgeous, pretty, outstanding...and then when he tried to tell her how good he thought she looked, all he could utter was 'great.'

"Thanks," Gabriella smiled as she stepped inside.

"So, what do you think of my costume?" Troy asked.

"Well, you look very much like Troy Bolton," Gabriella answered.

"Thanks! That was my goal," said Troy. "And you look just like a princess." He wrapped his arms around his girlfriend's waist and held her close to him longer than necessary.

"So, are you ready?" Gabriella inquired when she and Troy finally pulled away from one another. "Because if we want to get to Sharpay and Ryan's on time, we'd better start trick-or-treating now." Troy and Gabriella had been invited to the Halloween party Sharpay and Ryan were having for all their friends, and before they went, they wanted to spend some time alone together trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. After all, if they went around in two different neighborhoods, they would get double the candy.

"I will be as soon as I grab my candy bag," Troy replied as he snatched the plastic bag he was going to use to put his candy in off the sofa.

"You ready now?"

Troy responded by giving Gabriella a second hug, then taking her hand and leading her out the front door. The second they were outside, he embraced her a third time and lightly touched his lips to her forehead.

"Troy, why do you keep hugging me?" asked Gabriella.

After pressing a couple more gentle kisses onto Gabriella's head, Troy replied, "Because you look beautiful tonight."

A smile crept upon Gabriella's lips as she flung her arms about Troy's neck. "You...you really think I'm beautiful?"

Troy returned his girlfriend's hug as he answered, "Yes, I do."

Gabriella's smile grew wider. "Thanks," she said, holding onto Troy a bit tighter.

"No problem, Brie," Troy responded slightly nervously. "Now how about we get going? Sharpay and Ryan's party starts at seven, and when we got outside, it was already quarter after six."

"Yeah, I guess we should," Gabriella agreed half-reluctantly.

"Wanna hold my hand?" Troy asked, offering one of his hands for Gabriella to take.

Gabriella pretended to be thoughtful for a moment. "No."

"No?" Troy couldn't bring himself to utter another word. He had no clue what to say or do. Should he keep walking? Should he ask Gabriella if there was something wrong with him? Should he prepare himself for a break up?

"Just kidding," Gabriella giggled as she snatched Troy's hand, laced her fingers with his, and began walking down the driveway.

A long sigh of relief emanated from Troy's mouth. "You had me scared there, princess," he said.

"Princess?" Gabriella repeated.

Troy's cheeks tinted slightly as he stared down at the dark pavement beneath his black sneakers. "Well," he began hesitantly, "You are a princess tonight, aren't you?"

Gabriella was silent for a moment, in which she started chewing on her lower lip. Troy had never called her anything other than Brie. Ever. Not even when he first met her, for at that age, he couldn't pronounce her full name. Now if he was telling someone else about her, then sometimes he would use her real name, but he never, ever had used it directly to her face. And all of a sudden he decides to make up a new nickname for her? As special a girlfriend as it made Gabriella feel, she wasn't sure what to say-or even think, for that matter.

"Uh, Brie...um...you okay?" Troy inquired.

Gabriella nodded.

"I won't call you a princess anymore if you would rather me not. I know it kind of sounds babyish and more like something a father would call his spoiled little daughter, but hey, you're spoiled by me and you're someone to take care of like a baby, I mean, I'm not saying you are a baby or anything, I'm just pointing out that-"

"Troy, I love that nickname," Gabriella assured her boyfriend. "So you can stop your silly rambling. But you can only start calling me your princess under one condition."

"What's that?" Troy asked slightly nervously.

"You have to let me call you my Wildcat," Gabriella replied with a satisfied expression.

"Wildcat? You know, I was expecting something that went more with princess like prince or king, or...I don't know. But you-"

Gabriella's heart sank. She couldn't believe Troy hated the special name she had chosen for him. She'd expected him to love it since it was his team name and had something to do with one of his interests. "I'm sorry, Troy," she murmured. "I thought you would-"

"I love it," Troy said. "If you would've let me finish what I was saying before, you would've found out that I was happy you thought of something that didn't have to do with my name for you."

"So you like it?" Gabriella checked. Even though Troy had just said he loved his nickname, Gabriella wanted to be sure he was telling the truth and not just making something up so she wouldn't feel bad.

Troy placed a kiss on Gabriella's cheek. "You can take that as a 'yes,' okay, princess?"

Gabriella nodded happily. "So, we never did get out of the driveway, did we?"

Troy shook his head as he lightly laughed and ran his fingers through his hair. "No, I guess we didn't. By now, though, it might be really close to the time we need to leave for the party."

"Maybe we could just go up and down our street, then, rather than covering the entire neighborhood," suggested Gabriella.

"Sure; sounds awesome," Troy agreed. "Let's get going."

Gabriella and Troy went to Gabriella's door, then approached the house of the neighbors that had filmed them at their barbeque eleven years back.

"You go in front of me," Troy said.

"Why?" Gabriella wondered.

"Because you're in a costume," Troy explained. "They'll never recognize you, but they'll know who I am as soon as they open the door."

"But Troy..." Gabriella pouted.

"No, don't you dare start with that face, princess. No matter what you do, I _refuse_ to give in this time," Troy said firmly.

"But I'm about to cry, Troy," Gabriella pleaded as she put on her best irresistible frown and hid her face in Troy's shoulder, as if tears were going to start falling from her chocolate eyes at any second.

Troy sighed. "Fine, I'll go first, but if they make a joke about us, it's your fault."

Before Gabriella could reply, the door to the house swung open, and Mrs. Hetherman stepped onto the porch. "Troy, where's your costume? I'm not giving you candy unless you're wearing a costume."

"This _is_ my costume," said Troy. "Don't you know who I'm going as?"

"I know very well who you're going as-yourself."

"Actually," Troy began, "I'm a Wildcat."

"Well, you look like yourself to me. And just so you two know, I don't have candy this year; I have healthy snacks that will benefit both you and all the other kids that come around. Let me just go get them." Mrs. Hetherman walked inside, returning a minute later with Ziploc bags full of cut up fruit. "Make sure you eat these either tonight or tomorrow so they don't go bad."

"Okay, thanks. Bye," Troy and Gabriella both said as they hurried back down the driveway.

"I can't believe she gave us fruit!" Troy exclaimed. "That's just evil! I went trick-or-treating because I wanted candy-not healthy foods that they serve in the school cafeteria!"

"Calm down, Wildcat. I'm sure the people at the next house will give us chocolate bars or something like that."

"I hope so."

"Oh, and do you wanna have a sleepover tonight?" Gabriella asked. Even though it was a Tuesday, therefore a school night, Troy and Gabriella would most likely be able to have a sleepover as long as they got to bed by ten and were up and ready by quarter of seven in the morning. And besides, the past weekend she had needed to stay over at her mom's house, which she really didn't like doing, so she and Troy hadn't gotten to spend the night with each other then.

"Sure," Troy replied as he and Gabriella approached the porch of the next house.

"But I only want you to spend the night if you're gonna be cuddly with me because my room was freezing last night and we haven't gotten the chance to get comfy with each other for a few days."

"If your room's so cold, why don't we have the sleepover at my house? And sure; I'll cuddle with you tonight."

Gabriella thanked Troy and gave him a smile, then the two teenagers continued to make their way around the neighborhood.

* * *

"I love your costume, Gabriella!" Sharpay squealed as she opened her front door, letting Troy and Gabriella into her large living room. "And Troy, you are just like Ryan. He's not bothering to put on a costume, either."

"I told you! A cool guy like me doesn't need a costume!" Ryan shouted from upstairs.

"You're not as cool as you think you are!" Sharpay called back. Then, turning back to Troy and Gabriella, she said, "You can sit anywhere you like. We're just waiting for Kelsi and Jason to get here, then we'll head out into my neighborhood and see if we can get a candy collection."

Troy and Gabriella sat down on the end of Sharpay's sofa Taylor wasn't occupying and cuddled up together. "Hi," they said in greeting to Taylor along with Martha, who was seated in a chair not far from the couch.

"Hey, guys," Martha returned. "Gabriella, your costume looks awesome! I love it! It's so much better than my hip hop dancer one." She looked down at her jeans, sneakers, and colorful shirt before adjusting the hat that sat on her head.

"Yeah, your costume is really nice," Taylor said, agreeing with Martha. "I especially love the tiara you're wearing."

"Thanks," Gabriella smiled.

Just then, the doorbell sounded and Sharpay rushed to answer it. "Hi, Jason!" she greeted as Jason walked through the door. "I see you, like all the other guys, don't have a costume."

"I hate dressing up," Jason explained. "And I'm sure the other guys' excuses for going as they are would be the same." He shrugged.

"Jason!" Martha exclaimed, rushing up to her boyfriend to give him a hug in greeting. "Do you like my costume? I'm a hip hop dancer, like we're both going to be in two weeks."

"You're taking hip hop dance?" Gabriella inquired.

"Yeah," Martha replied. "I wanted to do it, and didn't want to take class with a bunch of strangers, so I dragged Jason into it. He's mad, though."

"I don't dance!" insisted Jason.

"Hip hop sounds like fun!" Gabriella remarked, surprising Troy. She'd never given any indication of being a hip hop type girl, but she had just proved that thought wrong.

"Do you want to join the class?" Martha invited.

"I'll talk to my dad about it," Gabriella answered as she turned toward Troy. "And you, Wildcat, will ask your parents to do it, too. You don't want Jason to be the only guy there, and even if there will be other boys, you wouldn't want me dancing with one of them, would you?"

"What?" Troy stared at Gabriella, astonished. "Brie, no. I'm _not_ taking dance. I would look ridiculous doing hip hop! You will _not _manage to pull me into this."

Gabriella stuck her lower lip out in a pout and stared pleadingly into Troy's eyes. "Please?"

"No, princess. I just can't say 'yes' to this. It's something I really don't wanna do."

"But I want to take it, and I want you to take it with me. I haven't taken dance since fifth grade, and that was ballet. I want to do a dance you don't have to be graceful and light on your feet to do, and hip hop seems like the perfect kind. And now all I want is for my adorable boyfriend to take it with me." Gabriella paused for a moment. "You know, I'll cry if you say 'no.'" She rested her head on Troy's shoulder and wrapped her arms around him. "Please, Wildcat?"

Troy sighed a deep sigh. "Fine, Brie, but this is the last thing you're getting me into with the threat of tears. As much as I'd hate to see my princess cry, I'm gonna have to say 'no' the next time you get to the sob stage of your pleading."

"Way to go, Gabriella!" Kelsi, who had just arrived at the Evans' place during the time when Gabriella was begging Troy to join hip hop, congratulated.

At that moment, Ryan came rushing down the stairs. "Hey, Kels," he said as he went up to Kelsi and gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey Ryan," Troy began, "Watch out. Brie's starting to give Kelsi some ideas on how to make you as whipped as I am."

"You wouldn't do that to the best guy on earth, Kels, would you?" Ryan inquired rapidly as he stared into Kelsi's hazel eyes.

"Maybe. It seems to work perfectly on Troy. I don't see why it would fail for you," Kelsi responded with a giggle.

"You know, Troy," Sharpay started as she adjusted the necklace she was wearing as part of her movie star costume, "You sounded awfully proud when you were saying you were whipped. I'm beginning to think that you like it when Gabriella gets you into things."

"Well, I'm sort of happy that she knows how to accomplish something, but I can't say that I like being a whipped boyfriend," said Troy as he dropped a kiss onto Gabriella's forehead.

"You know, you were the one that decided to spoil me!" Gabriella protested. "So you pretty much caused yourself to be whipped!"

"Okay, guys, before a fight starts, how about we go trick-or-treating now?" Sharpay suggested.

Everyone agreed, so they all headed out the door and to Sharpay's neighbors' house, where they each received two mini chocolate bars.

"This is way better than the fruit we got from Gabriella's neighbors," Troy remarked.

"Your family gives out fruit on Halloween?" Jason asked, shocked.

"No, not my family," laughed Troy, "Her other neighbors. They gave us bags of cut up fruit."

"That sucks," Sharpay commented. "But don't worry about my neighborhood; no one ever gives out fruit here-or vegetables, or any of those things you would just rather not get while trick-or-treating."

"I'm glad to hear that," said Troy as he took Gabriella's hand.

"Hey, guess what? I got the leading role in the musical!" Ryan exclaimed as he suddenly did a leap and a jazz square. "Who's happy for me?" A smile lit up his face.

"I don't know you," Sharpay announced as she hurriedly trotted away from her brother, everyone but Kelsi following after her.

"Ry, you can't do this," Kelsi explained. "You're acting like you're the best guy in the world-which you are-but you just shouldn't be acting this way. It's rude to beg for attention like you just did a minute ago."

"I would like some support from you, you know," Ryan snapped. "And since I'm not getting any, I'm going to ask you to go with the others while I continue trick-or-treating alone."

"I'm just trying to he-"

"I asked you to be quiet," Ryan reminded his girlfriend as he began walking in the opposite direction of everyone else.

Kelsi shrugged as she trailed after the group of friends before her. Ryan seemed to always get defensive and angry like he had just done; he just couldn't stand being told what to do and resented being ignored. After all, wasn't it a crime to do such things to Ryan Evans?

"Is he in one of his I'm-mad-because-you're-acting-like-I'm-not-better-than-everyone-else moods again?" Sharpay asked as Kelsi approached thr group.

Kelsi nodded. "Yeah."

Sharpay let out an irritated sigh. "My brother's such an annoying jerk sometimes."

"At least he gets over things like this real fast," Martha said. "Even though he usually gets over them by gloating about something different than he gloated about in the first place, but..."

"I know," Sharpay laughed.

And Martha's fact proved to be true, as no more than five minutes later did a blonde guy in a hat come running up to everyone. "Hey, wait for me!" he called out, holding his head to prevent his hat from being blown away by the heavy wind that had just begun to pass through the area.

Everyone halted, spun around, and waited for Ryan to catch up to them.

"I got a _ton_ of candy when I was going around by myself," Ryan announced. "And I know that I'll get more than all of you guys combined in the end because I get to go to some houses twice since I'll be going to the ones that I went to myself with all of you!"

Everyone ignored Ryan as they headed up the driveway of a small home.

"Trick-or-treat!" everyone shouted as a man opened the door.

Candy was quickly tossed into all the bags, then the group left to go to the next house.

"Are you cold?" Troy asked Gabriella as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders just in time to feel a heavy shiver pass through her body.

"Yeah," Gabriella admitted.

"Do you want my hoodie?" Troy inquired as he rushed to put his bag of candy down beside him and tear off the jacket he was wearing, leaving him in a thin t-shirt.

"You'll be cold, then, if I take it," Gabriella pointed out.

"I'll be fine, princess. Please. You'll make me happy if you wear it." With those words, Troy shoved the hoodie into Gabriella's hands, not giving her a chance to say another word.

"Thanks," Gabriella gratefully responded with a sweet smile as she slipped the jacket over her head and took Troy's hand.

* * *

When everyone was finished walking around the neighborhood, they all went inside the Evans' home and sat down in the living room.

"Aw, cute!" Sharpay exclaimed suddenly as her gaze rested on Gabriella. "You're wearing Troy's hoodie; I didn't notice that before!"

"Yeah," said Gabriella. "He forced me to take it from him."

"Well, I didn't want you to be shivering!" Troy exclaimed as he wrapped Gabriella in a hug and pulled her onto his lap while placing a gentle kiss onto the top of her head. "I would be a terrible boyfriend if I let you walk around in the cold with no jacket to wear!"

Gabriella let out a giggle as she snuggled into Troy and wound her arms around him. Before she knew it, Sharpay had grabbed her pink camera and was snapping a photo of her with her boyfriend.

"What are you _doing?_" Gabriella inquired, both suprised and embarrassed that someone had taken her picture when she was getting cuddly with Troy.

"You two are so cute! I just couldn't help but take a picture!" Sharpay exclaimed.

"Uh...thanks," Gabriella responded, her cheeks turning bright red.

"Okay, how about we move on to a candy trade?" Taylor suggested. At all the past Halloween parties she had been to with her friends, they had all traded any candy they didn't want for something better.

"Sure!" Everyone grabbed their candy bags and dumped the contents of them out onto the floor in front of them.

After a half hour of trading chocolate bars, lollipops, gum-and Troy and Gabriella trying to stick someone with their fruit-everybody's parents started arriving out front to pick up them up.

"I guess we've gotta go," Gabriella said as she peeked out the window and, by the light of the street lamps, saw her dad's car at the end of the driveway. "We'll see you guys later."

"Bye," Sharpay and Ryan said, while everyone else, who also had to leave, walked out the door with Troy and Gabriella said said 'bye' to them as they headed toward their own cars.

On the way home, Gabriella asked her dad about sleeping over at Troy's house. He said 'yes,' so once at home, Gabriella got together her things while Troy got his parents' permission for it.

"Is it okay with you if I get out of this costume?" Gabriella asked once she and Troy were shut in his room.

"Sure," Troy shrugged. "And feel free to borrow the hoodie if you want, along with whatever clothes are in my closet. I know you like sleeping in my t-shirts and shorts."

"Thank you so much," Gabriella smiled as she removed her tiara from her head and set it inside her bag. Next, she slipped Troy's jacket over her head and put it with the tiara, then wandered over to his closet and selected a pair of navy basketball shorts and a white t-shirt.

Just as Gabriella was heading to the bathroom to change, her cell phone began ringing.

"Hello?" she said as she picked it up.

"Hi," came the voice of Gabriella's mother. "I was just wondering if you were coming to my house so I could see what your Halloween costume looks like."

"I was actually about to get out of it," Gabriella answered.

"Oh, well can you quick ask your father if he can bring you over before you change? I would really like to see you wearing your costume."

"I'm actually not at home now. I'm at Troy's. We're having a sleepover since we couldn't have one over the weekend."

"You're sleeping over with him? Gabby, I told you before; I'm not sure about you and him having sleepovers anymore. You're in high school, and you're dating; it's not exactly appropriate for you two to sleep at each other's houses, especially in the same bed."

"But Dad says it's okay," Gabriella protested.

"Well, I don't. And I'm gonna talk to him about it. I'm still your parent, too, you know, and I would rather you stick with sleeping at home or at other girls' houses."

Gabriella had no idea of what to say.

"Anyway, I was also calling to say that on Thanksgiving, I would like you to come over to my place, and I was going to say that Troy could come, too if you want. But if you both stay the night here, you're sleeping in a room I have all set up for you, and Troy's getting the couch."

"Okay. I'll ask Dad about it," Gabriella responded, thinking to herself that she would rather stay home and keep her father company on Thanksgiving since her mom had someone to be with already.

"Alright; great. You can let me know what he says as soon as you find out. Now I'm gonna let you go for the night. Just remember to be careful with Troy. Bye," said Maria.

"Bye," Gabriella returned as she hung up her phone and put it back in its place.

"Who was that, your mom?" asked Troy.

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah. She's panicking that we're having a sleepover again and she also just asked if the both of could come over for Thanksgiving. But I would rather spend the holiday with my dad." She sighed.

"Well, we don't _have_ to go," Troy said with a shrug.

"Yeah," Gabriella acknowledged as she headed into the bathroom with Troy's clothes and her toothbrush. "I'm going to change and brush my teeth; I'll be back in a minute."

"Okay."

Gabriella disappeared in the bathroom, then reappeared a short while later in Troy's shirt and shorts.

"You can get into bed awhile," Troy invited. "I'm just gonna go in the bathroom and brush my teeth." While Gabriella was in the bathroom, he had already changed into clothing comfortable to sleep in.

"Okay," Gabriella agreed with a yawn as she climbed under the covers of Troy's bed. A couple minutes later, he joined her.

"Get comfortable, Brie," said Troy as he wrapped his arms around his girlfriend and cuddled her close to his chest.

"I am," Gabriella murmured as she closed her eyes and snuggled further into Troy.

"Hey, aren't you gonna give me a kiss before you fall asleep?" Troy inquired.

"Of course I'll give you a kiss," Gabriella smiled as she lifted her head, brushed her lips against Troy's cheek, waited while he did the same to her, then nestled back against his firm chest.

"Hey, I want another one."

Gabriella pretended to be irritated as she touched her soft lips to her boyfriend's cheek a second time. "Are you good now?" she asked with a playful smile.

Troy kissed the top of Gabriella's head and pulled her even closer to him than she already was. "No, I'm not good; I'm great."

A giggle escaped Gabriella's lips. "You're crazy."

"So?" said Troy, his ocean colored eyes meeting Gabriella's chocolate ones.

Gabriella couldn't find words to say. Her boyfriend's eyes-those handsome, bright, gorgeous, beautiful, stunning, exquisite, dazzling, adorable irises-were melting with hers. This was the first time after they had begun dating that he'd stared into her eyes like he was currently doing.

"Brie?"

Troy's voice was unable to break into Gabriella's trance.

"Princess?"

"Your eyes..." Gabriella began softly as a blush crept over her face, "They're...they're handsome, Wildcat."

"Thanks," Troy smiled. "And yours are beautiful."

An awkward silence passed between the two teenagers. They weren't accustomed to calling each other things like 'handsome' or 'beautiful.' After all, they _had_ just begun dating not too long ago, and they weren't too familiar with all the things couples said and did.

"Well, good night," Gabriella finally spoke.

"Good night," Troy returned, squeezing Gabriella tightly.

"Good night," murmured Gabriella.

With those words, Troy kissed the top of his girlfriend's head, turned his alarm on for the next morning, switched the lamp beside his bed off, then, along with Gabriella, closed his eyes and fell to sleep.

* * *

**Okay, so there's good news for you guys. I'm not getting a job anymore, so I'll have more free time to write. However, I plan to start looking for one in another few months, so this may not last for long. And I start dance stuff again tomorrow, so I'll get even busier still. Though there are three days I'll DEFINITELY have chapters ready for: October 18, October 24, and December 14. (Zac's birthday, HSM3's 2nd anniversary, and Vanessa's birthday).**

**Secondly, I planned out this story and estimated it to be a MINIMUM of 78 chapters. It was 75, but now it's more. I know my poll says 75 and I'll be changing that really soon. But anyway, if you wanna go vote in my poll, you can:) And this is going to take me a looooong time to write, especially since my update schedule is very disorganized right now, so if you guys stick with me for the whole story, great! But if you don't, I totally understand.**

**And I'm losing track of who's helping with what chapters, so to everyone who helped me with this, thanks!**

**What do you think of Troy and Gabriella doing hip hop dance? Or just anything else in general? Please review:)**


	12. Class Trip Part 1

The wind struck Troy and Gabriella's faces as they stepped off the school bus, which for once, was taking them to a place other than East High or home. A camp smell reached their nostrils as smoke from a nearby fire reached them. Before their eyes, a good many tents were set up, ready for people to move into them.

This was the Albuquerque campground, and it was where the freshman class at East High was going to stay for the entire weekend.

"This is going to be so much fun!" Martha exclaimed as she walked up to Troy and Gabriella. "I've always wanted to go camping, but never got the chance to!"

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Ryan complained. "I never thought I'd have to skip my weekend jazz class to go on a stupid camping trip."

"Well, I'm skipping a contemporary ballet solo class to come here. I was supposed to go to work on a couple things I've been having trouble with, but I decided I would do that next weekend because this weekend I wanted to go on this trip," said Sharpay.

"And I'm missing a piano recital practice," Kelsi told Ryan.

"I'm not missing anything," Jason shrugged.

"Of course you're not," Martha said as she rolled her eyes.

"It's too bad Taylor's on vacation with her family," Gabriella remarked.

"I know," Kelsi agreed.

"Alright, guys!" called out a teacher. "You and whoever you're sharing a tent with need to go pick one out, get set up, and change into hiking clothes. We'll meet back here in half an hour so we can hike in the woods."

With those words, everyone dashed off, in a hurry to claim a good tent.

"Let's use this one!" Gabriella exclaimed as she practically pulled Troy through the opening of the tent nearest the bathhouses. Upon both their requests to be roommates-or rather tentmates-for the trip, the teachers had agreed to let them.

"Okay," Troy agreed.

Once the tent flap was firmly secured shut, Troy and Gabriella tossed some pillows onto the ground and rolled out the one sleeping bag they had brought for the both of them to share. They hadn't bothered tossing a second one in with their things, for they knew they would want to snuggle in their sleep since the nights were awfully chilly, and because they always shared a bed when they had sleepovers, and they'd be sleeping in the same place on the trip, so that sort of counted as sleeping over with one another.

"Alright, do we need to get anything else out?" Gabriella asked.

"I don't think we have to now," Troy replied. "How about we just hang out for a little before we have to change and go on the stupid hike that I really don't want to go on? I'm already exhausted from the ride over here, and school made me super sleepy today." It was Friday, and while the freshman all got a half day due to the fact they were leaving for their trip, they still had two quizzes that morning and a lot of work in the classes they didn't have the quizzes in.

"I know; I'm exhausted, too," Gabriella yawned, crawling into the sleeping bag and placing her head on one of the pillows. After a small pause, she said, "Wildcat, come lie down with me."

Troy cuddled up to Gabriella and pulled her close to him so that her head was resting on his chest. "You're my princess," he remarked with a smile.

"Does that mean you'll carry me if I get tired of walking on the hike?"

"Maybe. It depends on how tired I am because if I'm too sleepy, I won't have the energy to hold you."

"But you will if I cry, won't you?"

"Don't you dare do that, Brie. I can't stand to see you all upset and crying."

"That's why I threaten you with tears if you say you're not gonna do something for me," Gabriella giggled. "And I also use my sad face."

"I know; I am so whipped by you."

"But you're okay with it because I'm your princess, right?"

"Of course," Troy replied as he touched his lips to Gabriella's forehead.

"So, do you want to go check out the bathrooms with me?" asked Gabriella after a brief pause. "I want to see how dirty they are."

"Okay," Troy agreed.

Troy and Gabriella exited their tent and made their way to the bathrooms. Once there, Troy went into the one for boys and Gabriella went in the girls' one. Inside each of them, they found cobwebs and dust in every corner, broken locks on half the stalls, and sinks with dirt all over the bottoms. Against one wall, there were four showers-half of them missing curtains-that seemed as if they would make someone more dirty than clean after using them. Luckily, though, Gabriella had the idea of bringing soap and a bucket to fill with water, so she and Troy could wash up a little in the tent.

"Troy, these bathrooms are disgusting!" Gabriella exclaimed as she rushed out the door and up to where Troy was standing a few feet away from her. "I'd rather go in a bush than in those toilets! The water in them is brown!"

"The guys' bathroom isn't much better," Troy said. "Even I think it's gross, and I don't find a lot of things disgusting. Maybe if we have to go, we'll just have to find a hidden spot in the woods. Though I wouldn't want you going in there alone, especially at night, since I don't know who or what would be there. And besides, if we came with each other, we could make sure no one that could see us came around."

"But what about toilet paper?"

"Well, we brought napkins..."

Gabriella let out a sigh. "This trip is going to be the worst thing ever. It's bad enough I can't have a real shower for the whole weekend. Thanks goodness we have soap, though."

"At least it's just a weekend rather than an entire week," Troy pointed out.

"Yeah," Gabriella agreed.

"Okay, well, I think we'd better get back to our tent and change for the hike," Troy said as he rolled his eyes.

"I know; I'm not exactly thrilled about going, either," Gabriella sighed while she began heading in the direction of the tent she and Troy were sharing.

"If we go on it, though, I think I want to skip any nighttime activities that are planned. I'm tired already."

"Me, too. And besides, we'll make s'mores and stuff every day we're here-at least, that's what the teachers were saying-so it's not like we'd be missing anything big."

"Yeah."

By this time, Troy and Gabriella were back in their tent, the flap securely closed. Going over to their bags, they pulled out some comfortable clothes along with a pair of old sneakers. Gabriella, though, didn't have her own clothes; she had Troy's.

"Hey! That's where my Wildcats t-shirt went!" Troy exclaimed. "Brie, when did you take that?"

"Last time I was at your house," Gabriella answered.

"And those are a pair of my old sweat pants!"

"But your clothes are comfier than mine-and they remind me of you."

"Fine," sighed Troy. "Go ahead and wear them. But after this trip, you're giving them back to me. My parents have been getting upset with me because I keep letting you have my clothes-and they also noticed that some of my things are mysteriously disappearing...because of you."

"Sorry," Gabriella apologized.

"It's okay; you didn't know I was getting in trouble," said Troy as he pulled his girlfriend into a tight hug.

"Thanks," Gabriella smiled as she returned Troy's hug before beginning to change into his clothes. Even though Troy and Gabriella felt it would be too awkward to see each other changing after they'd gotten together, they had talked about the situation with each other before the trip, assuring one another that they would handle having to see each other naked for a few days in the way they'd handled it before they became a couple. Gabriella especially was still a little shy about it, but she always told herself that it was better that the person she was most comfortable with was the one she had to get dressed in front of than having to share a tent with a stranger and change in front of them. Even with one of her girl friends she would be too embarrassed to do something like that.

"I guess we can hang out for a little bit before we have to go," Troy said once he and Gabriella were both dressed in their hiking clothes.

"What do you wanna do?" Gabriella inquired as she pulled her curls into a high ponytail while walking over to the sleeping bag, where she took a seat and patted the spot beside her as a signal for Troy to sit there.

"I brought my ipod; we could listen to that," Troy suggested. "And I even have the speaker for it."

"You're my favorite person in the entire world," Gabriella smiled.

"Thanks," Troy responded as he lightly tapped his girlfriend's nose with one of his fingers. "You're my favorite, too."

"Can I sit on your lap?" Gabriella inquired, looking up into Troy's face with pleading eyes.

When Troy nodded, Gabriella crawled onto him, cuddling up against his chest and closing her eyes partway. "I'm sleepy," she said with a big yawn.

"I can tell," Troy murmured, placing a gentle kiss onto Gabriella's forehead. "Maybe I _will_ carry you on that hike tonight. I don't even know if you're gonna be able to stay awake for the whole thing." He squeezed her tighter and touched his lips to her cheek.

"What if I fall asleep on you?"

"That's fine. I'll just tell a teacher what happened and ask if I can take you back to the tent. Or maybe we can just skip the hike, take a little nap, then go to make s'mores tonight instead of the other way around?"

"That sounds good," Gabriella mumbled tiredly.

"How about we get under the covers, then?" suggested Troy.

When Gabriella nodded, Troy climbed into the sleeping bag with her and held her close to him, but not before grabbing two thick extra blankets for them to use for additional warmth.

"I'll set the alarm on my cell phone from two hours from now; sound good?" Troy asked.

Gabriella's eyelids gradually fell shut as she offered one small nod in her boyfriend's direction.

"Have a good nap," Troy whispered as he placed a soft kiss onto the top of her head. Once he had the alarm set, he wrapped his arms around Gabriella's waist and pulled her close to him. "You're so beautiful, Brie," he began saying, even though he knew his girlfriend was asleep. "And your tiny nose is so cute I just want to kiss it."

"Hm?" Gabriella asked groggily as her eyes opened halfway.

"I was just uh...saying how I thought you were beautiful and um...that uh...your little nose is adorable and I want to...to...well, I would want to kiss it if I could, but I understand that it would be sort of a weird thing for me to do..."

"You can kiss anywhere you like on my face, just as long as you don't kiss my lips since I think I'm uh...just not ready for that. Maybe in a couple months," said Gabriella as a blush tinted her cheeks.

"I won't kiss you on the lips until I'm _positive_ you'd be okay with it. I would _never_ do anything that would make you feel uncomfortable. Remember that. I don't want you to feel pressured into doing things you'd rather wait to do, and I especially want our first kiss to be enjoyable for the both of us."

"You're the sweetest boyfriend I could ask for, Wildcat. Too many guys at school want their first kiss the second they get a girlfriend so they can tell their friends they kissed a girl. But you're offering to wait until I feel ready to kiss you." A smile crept onto Gabriella's lips.

"Well Brie, I just don't think it's right to use a girl just to get a first kiss," Troy told his girlfriend. "I would rather take things slow and develop a strong uh...romantic relationship between us. Speaking of which, I still need to take you out on our first date. We never got to go on my birthday because we went to the Lakers' game."

"Where did you want to go for that?" inquired Gabriella.

"Well, I have twenty dollars saved up, so you can pick something to do for that amount of money or less. I'm sorry I sort of have a limit, but, as you know, I don't have a job, so the only money I get is the money from my allowance and from birthdays and Christmas."

"Could we go see a movie?"

"What movie, princess?"

"_Troyella Forever,_" Gabriella answered. The movie was the PG-13 rated sequel to _High School Musical 3_, and was supposed to contain lots of cute Troy and Gabriella scenes which would take place over their college years. And Gabriella had heard a rumor that there would be a proposal in it, along with another one saying that the kissing was more intense and Troy and Gabriella's relationship was taken more seriously.

"Couldn't we see or do something we would both enjoy?"

"Please, Wildcat? I've been wanting to see it ever since I found out Disney was making it! You _can't_ tell me we can't see it!" A pout formed on Gabriella's lips.

"No. This is the one thing I refuse to take you to. And besides, I don't have enough money for it." Troy shrugged.

"Troy, movie tickets are only five dollars each, and then to get a popcorn and a small drink that's so big we could share it would only be another six or seven dollars. You certainly have enough."

"But I don't want to see it!" Troy protested. "I'll be the only guy there, and I'll be surrounded by crazy fangirls that are squealing every time there's a kiss or hug or 'I love you.' Brie, I refuse to suffer."

"If you don't take me, I'll cry."

"Sorry, princess. That threat no longer works on me. I refuse to give in to you this time."

"I won't cuddle with you, then," Gabriella pouted as she climbed out of the sleeping bag.

"Well then I guess I just won't get any more cuddles," said Troy with a shrug.

"But Troy...I want cuddles." Gabriella suddenly darted back to her boyfriend and snuggled into his side, her head resting gently on his chest. "Cuddles are something I just _can't_ give up, Wildcat."

"I knew you wouldn't be able to do it," Troy remarked as he ran his fingers through Gabriella's hair.

"Will you take me to the movie if _I_ pay for my ticket?" asked Gabriella, gazing expectantly into Troy's cerulean irises. "And I'll even pay for yours, too, if you want me to. I just want to see it really bad and my dad has to work next weekend, so he can't take me, and my mom...well, I don't really like doing stuff with her, and I can't drive by myself."

"I could ask my parents to drop you off at the theater by yourself and pick you up in a couple hours when the movie's all done," Troy suggested.

"I don't want to go alone, Wildcat. And besides, I thought we were supposed to be going on a date, and we can't date when you're not even with me."

"Well then ask one of your friends to go with you, because I refuse to take you out on a date to see it; it's a waste of money, and I would have a miserable time."

"It's not a waste if money, Troy! And you told me I could pick where we went on our date, so I picked. And now you're pretty much taking back the offer by saying that you won't take me to see that movie!"

"But it has got to be the stupidest movie ever made! I mean, why would anyone want a movie full of nothing but fluff! It must've been made only for fans of the Zanessa or Troyella or whoever it is. And I hate both of them."

"Please take me," Gabriella pleaded. "I'll watch _Transformers _and _Star Wars_ with you-both of them in a row-if you take me to see the movie."

"No! I want our first date to be something fun for the both of us! Is that too much to ask?" Troy began to raise his voice.

Gabriella nodded.

"You know what?" Troy shouted as he jumped up from under the sleeping bag, pushing Gabriella away from his as he did, "Why don't you just shut up and go to sleep? Because I'm breaking up with you. Welcome back to being nothing more than my best friend, since you're apparently manipulative and selfish when we're together. I wanted our first date to be something we could actually enjoy. But I guess it's either your way or no way."

Tears formed in Gabriella's eyes. "No! I-I don't w-want to break up!"

"We'll still be best friends," Troy pointed out in a tone a bit more calmer than the one he'd used before. "It's not like we're never going to speak to one another again."

"B-But Troy!" Gabriella whimpered.

"Brie, we've been nothing but best friends for years. I don't think staying at that status for longer is going to hurt us."

"P-Please, give me o-one more chance to b-be a g-good girlfriend!"

"No, Like I said before, we're over."

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**Wow! I haven't updated in soooo long! Sorry for the long wait. I wrote half of a crappy chapter before this, then had to start the whole thing over again because I hated how it was turning out. LOL.**

**So, I put in a little drama. What do you think of Troyella breaking up before they even got to go on their first date? What do you think of them being best friends again? Was it too much for them to get mad and Troy to say they were done before he took Gabriella out for the first time? Please tell me your thoughts. And I suck at drama, so if you leave a complaint, I'll accept it as long as it's not a flame.**


	13. Class Trip Part 2

**Before I begin this chapter, I'd like to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to ZAC EFRON! He's 23 years old today! Zac, even though you probably will never read this, this chapter is dedicated to you (I know it's not the best type of chapter you would want for a birthday present, so sorry about that:( But it's the only chapter I have.) I hope you have a great day and get to spend time with Vanessa:) Also, I didn't get to see Charlie St. Cloud in theaters (sadly) so ASAP I'm going to watch it either on TV or on DVD. I can't wait for it! And thanks for all the great comments about Vanessa. I love Zanessa stuff, so I was thrilled when you said, "Kissing Vanessa is always great." and also when you were asked if you would risk your life for the girl you loved and your answer was, "I would risk my life ten times over." Thanks soooo much for all that! And also I LOVED the Charlie St. Cloud movie pics from when you were at premiers and also the Hawaii pics with you and Vanessa:) And BTW, I heard that on the way back from your vacation, you cuddled up under blankets with her in the same seat and you two were kissing almost the whole way home and that while you were doing that, someone told you to get a room and people were complaining about it. But I wouldn't have! I would LOVE that! You are so cute both by yourself and with Vanessa:) Especially with your handsome blue eyes. They're just so blue! Love you! (But not as much as Vanessa does, I'm sure!) XOXOXO**

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"B-But we hardly e-even started!" Gabriella burst out, furiously climbing out of the sleeping bag, grabbing her cell phone, and, not seeming to notice that she was barefoot, rushed out of the tent and over to a large creek situated in the opposite direction of the woods where all the others-minus Troy-were starting out on their hike.

Rolling up her-wait no, Troy's-pants a little bit and taking a seat on a large rock, Gabriella let her feet rest in the frigid water as she dialed the number to her house.

"Hello?" came the voice of her father after a couple rings.

"Dad, I want to come back home," Gabriella announced, her voice shaking as unwanted tears that she had been struggling to hold in ever since she had stepped out of the tent began to trickle down her cheeks.

"Why?" David inquired. "What happened? You just got there a little bit ago, didn't you? Are you sick or something?"

"N-No. I-It's Troy. H-He just b-broke up w-with m-me. I-I can't s-stand t-to b-be a-around h-him r-right n-now," Gabriella sobbed. "H-He s-said w-we w-would s-still be f-friends, b-but I..." She trailed off, unable to continue speaking.

"Alright. I'll come and get you. I'll be about forty-five minutes, so in that time, you can pack up all your things."

Gabriella said she would go get ready to leave and hung up her phone, climbing off the rock she was sitting on as she did. Once she got back to the tent she and Troy were using, she silently began to collect all her things while doing her best to ignore Troy.

"What are you doing?" Troy eventually ventured.

"Leaving," came Gabriella's blunt response.

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to be around you any longer."

"Brie, I said we would be best friends again. And I want my best friend to share a tent with me on this trip; if you leave, I won't have anyone to cuddle up with at night, and it's too cold outside to not cuddle up."

"In case you didn't know this, friends don't cuddle," Gabriella spat.

"What do you mean? We would cuddle when we were just friends!"

"Well, that doesn't mean it was right! In fact, if we ever have another sleepover again, I don't even think we should share a bed! Most girls with guy friends don't sleep in the same bed as them if they have them stay over."

"Who cares? We've been sharing a bed during sleepovers ever since we started having them!" Troy protested.

"We weren't going to. I remember that the first sleepover we had was at your house, and I brought a sleeping bag, but then we were playing a game on your bed, and when we were done playing it, we just both laid down under your covers because we were really tired, and then before we knew it, we were both asleep. And after that, we had a sleepover at my house, and since at your house we thought it was fun to sleep in the same bed, I asked you if you wanted to sleep in my bed and you said 'yes.' After that, then, we just never slept separately."

"So? We still ended up sharing a bed, and that was the point I was trying to make."

"Whatever, Troy. I don't care about our past. I don't even want to be friends with you anymore. You're a stupid jerk. Now get out of the tent so I can change, because I will _not_ wear your stupid clothes for another second."

"Brie, you can't just kick me out. It's my tent, too, and-"

"Out," Gabriella ordered again as she jabbed her finger toward the opening of the tent.

With a sigh, Troy exited, leaving Gabriella in privacy to put on a pair of her own dark wash jeans, a dark purple long sleeved t-shirt, a red and white cheerleading jacket from East High, and her sneakers. When she emerged from the tent holding all her things, she wordlessly shoved Troy's clothes into his hands and walked toward the entrance of the campground, where she found a seat on a wooden bench to wait for her dad to arrive.

"Brie!"

Gabriella ignored Troy's voice.

"Brie!" Troy was now running up to his ex-girlfriend. "Brie! I want to say good-bye to you." He took a seat beside her. "Please."

"Fine. Good-bye," Gabriella said without even turning to look at Troy's face.

"Where's my hug?"

"After what you did to me, you think I'm going to give you a hug? You must be crazy!" Gabriella spat angrily, springing up from her seat and marching off to a patch of grass, in which she sat herself down.

"Brie, I want to be best friends again," Troy reminded her, following Gabriella to her new location and plopping down beside her.

"Well I don't," came Gabriella's cold response as she shifted in the opposite direction of Troy.

"I'm gonna give you cuddles," Troy announced while capturing Gabriella in his arms and holding her close to his chest as she struggled to be set free. "Wow, I never knew you were such a fighter! Oh well; one day you'll need me, come running back, and want to be right where you are now, because in case you haven't noticed, we've been there for each other pretty much our entire lives."

"I'll be okay," Gabriella assured Troy, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to emerge from her eyes.

"I don't think you will," Troy protested. "Ever since we were three years old, we've helped one another through hard times-even if some of those hard times were something that seems like nothing at all now like eating too many cookies or spilling a glass of water..."

"Troy, I'm ready to go my own way. I'll survive," Gabriella replied in a strong tone. "I'm old enough to take care of myself."

"Brie, when you were three, you needed me when your favorite shirt was in the wash and you wanted to wear it. I remember when I came over one afternoon you were on your bed in your pajamas crying that you couldn't get dressed because you couldn't wear the shirt you wanted."

_"What's wong, Bwie?" Troy inquired as he walked into his best friend's bedroom, where he found her curled up on her bed in her pajamas, her face buried into her Disney princess pillow, sobbing uncontrollably. _

_"M-Mommy s-said I-I c-can't w-weaw m-my f-favowite s-shiwt! S-She s-said i-it's i-in t-the w-wash!" Gabriella explained._

_"Do you want me to help you get it out?" asked Troy._

_Gabriella lifted her head and nodded slowly._

_"Okay! Let's go!" Troy shouted as he ran downstairs and into the laundry room, Gabriella following close behind._

_"How do you get this thing open?" Gabriella shouted while yanking on the washer door, which was locked since it automatically did that when a load of laundry was being washed._

_"I don't know!" Troy exclaimed, also grabbing the door and attempting to pull it open._

_"What are you doing?" Maria asked as she, upon hearing the commotion, walked over to Troy and Gabriella._

_"I'm helping Bwie!" Troy announced proudly._

_"With what?"_

_"He's helping me get my favowite shiwt!" Gabriella spoke, answering for her friend._

_"Well, you both need to stop pulling on that door. Gabriella, you can wear the shirt once it's done in the wash."_

_At those words, Gabriella began to cry._

_"It's okay, Bwie," Troy comforted as he hugged his friend. "You can get it in a little bit. Youw mommy said you could."_

_"Thank you, Twoy," Gabriella said, wiping her tears from her face before wrapping her little arms around Troy. "You'we the bestest fwiend evew!"_

"Troy, that was stupid," Gabriella remarked. "I was three then and I was throwing a fit about something that didn't matter. If that would happen now, I would just pick a different shirt to wear without tears, so I wouldn't need your comfort."

"So what if that was something that wouldn't happen now? The point is that you needed me, and I was there for you," said Troy as he touched his lips to Gabriella's forehead. "Just like when we were four and you fell off a swing at the park and cut your hand on a stick you landed on."

_Troy and Gabriella were playing at the local park one sunny Saturday afternoon while their parents sat on a nearby bench and talked, delighted that their children were occupied for the time being so they could get a chance to have a conversation._

_"I have an idea!" Troy announced. "How about we have a contest to see who can go the highest on the swings?"_

_"Okay!" Gabriella agreed, racing over to the swing set and seating herself on a swing beside her friend._

_"Weady, set, go!" Troy shouted as he began pushing himself on the swing as best as he could. Both he and Gabriella had just recently begun to learn how to swing by themselves. Neither one of them was great at it, but they could do it well enough to get the swing moving fairly high._

_"I'm gonna win!" Gabriella yelled after a minute, taking her hands off the chains of her swing and waving them up in the air. However, that idea proved to be a poor one, for she flew forward into the air and landed hard on the ground, using her hands to catch herself before her face could hit the dead grass beneath her. "Ow!" she exclaimed, tears springing to her eyes, as a sharp pain became present in the palm of her hand._

_"Brie! Are you okay?" After waiting for the swing to slow down, for he had trouble stopping it on his own, Troy rushed over to his friend._

_"T-This stick c-cut m-me," Gabriella sobbed, holding up a sharp stick that had been beneath her hand._

_"You'll be okay. I'll take you to your mommy and daddy," said Troy, offering a hand to help Gabriella to her feet._

_Once Gabriella was on her feet, she furiously wiped her tears away with the back of her hand, then loosely flung her arms about Troy's neck. "Thank you. You'we the bestest fwiend evew!"_

"Again, Troy, I was little. That time doesn't count." Gabriella rolled her chocolate eyes.

"Yes, it does," Troy argued. "You needed someone to help you and I was there, just like on our first day of kindergarten when that mean girl in our class stole the princess crown you wanted to wear."

Troy's words earned a second eye roll from Gabriella. "Will you stop bringing up things that happened several years ago? They don't matter anymore."

"Yes, they do, Brie. Every little thing that happened in our lives was something significant, even if it doesn't seem like it was. And these few things I'm pointing out to you are the most significant of them all," said Troy.

_"I'm gonna play dress up now, Troy," Gabriella announced as she walked over to the box of dress up clothes situated in a corner. It was her and Troy's first day of kindergarten._

_"Okay. I'll wait for you at the cars," Troy responded, pointing to the area where twenty toy cars sat in a pile before walking over there._

_Gabriella put a Cinderella dress over the red t-shirt and shorts her mother had put her in that morning, took off her sneakers, slipped her feet into a pair of plastic heels, then grabbed the princess crown lying almost directly in front of her and placed it atop her dark curls, which were pulled into two neat ponytails._

_"Hey!" snapped a little blonde girl as she marched up to Gabriella. "That's my crown! I was wearing it earlier! Give it back!"_

_Gabriella, who was unused to being bullied, began to cry._

_"You stay away from my bestest friend!" Troy shouted as he rushed over to where Gabriella and the blonde girl were standing. "Or else..." Troy bit his small lip as he struggled to think of a suitable threat. "Or else I'll push you down!" he finished._

_"And if you would push me down, I'd tell Mrs. Benson," the girl said loudly, getting right up into Troy's face. Mrs. Benson was the kindergarten teacher._

_"If you would get her, I'd tell her that you're being mean to my bestest friend in the entire world!" Troy yelled._

_"But she stole my crown! I was using it first!" the girl protested as tears began to flow from her hazel eyes. "Mrs. Benson! This boy's being mean to me!" she cried out._

_Mrs. Benson, who had been settling a fight between two little boys, hurried over to where Troy, Gabriella, and the blonde girl were standing. "What's the problem?" she inquired._

_"That stupid girl's being mean to my bestest friend!" Troy accused, jabbing his finger at the blonde girl._

_"T-That stupid b-boy s-said h-he w-was gonna p-push m-me!" the girl sobbed._

_"Alright, you two. Troy, go sit in the time out chair. Isabelle, leave Gabriella alone."_

_"Why do __**I**__ have to go in time out? That girl was the one who was being mean! She should have to go to the time out chair and stay there for the rest of her life!" Troy shouted._

_"You're mean!" Isabelle screamed, more and more tears racing down her rosy cheeks as each second passed, while she hit Troy on the arm._

_Troy, luckily, happened to be right in front of the markers, so he grabbed a black one, opened it, and made a mark on Isabelle's pink top, which she was wearing with a denim skort and black leggings. Already, she was looking like one of those high school girls that always had the trendiest outfits._

_"Stop, you two!" Mrs. Benson ordered sternly. "Both of you-in time out. I'll bring out another chair."_

_"I need my crown before I go in time out!" Isabelle shrieked._

_"No. It's Brie's," Troy told the little blonde girl as he went over to his friend and gave her a hug. "Are you okay?"_

_Gabriella nodded. "I'm okay. Do you want me to sit in time out with you? It might get boring if you sit there all by yourself."_

_Troy nodded, so Gabriella followed him over to the time out chair and took a seat beside him on the floor. "Thanks for helping me, Troy. You're the bestest friend in the world."_

"See, Brie? I even went in time out to do something for you. And you're not grateful for that?"

"Troy, time out's no big deal. All kindergartners go in time out at some point or another. And fighting over that crown was dumb, especially since the next day, I found a second one in the dress up box," said Gabriella.

"You never went in time out."

"I know I never did in school, but at home I was always in time out-and because of things that involved you, too. I had to go in time out when I threw a fit after my mom said I was too old to take a bath with you, I went in it after we caught those butterflies and let them fly around your house, I had to sit in my room after we ripped pages out of my parents' dictionary...almost every time I got in trouble, it was because of something you had a part in, too."

"Hey, it wasn't my fault that we got too old to take baths together. That was our parents' choice. I threw a fit, too, remember? I wanted to play with those plastic boats I had that we used to always play with in the tub."

"Well, you encouraged me to throw a fit about that! I would've been fine if you hadn't started screaming, crying, and begging your mom to change her mind!" Gabriella exclaimed.

"You were the one that was crying first!"

"I was not! I was just trying to get my mom to say we could have a bath! Then as soon as you started screaming, I did, too. And after that, I refused to take a bath by myself for a whole week and a half, so in a picture of a family picnic my parents took me to, I had dirt on my face!"

"Well, your parents should've forced you to clean up! It's not my fault they let you have your own way! In fact if I were them, I would've taught you that life isn't about you from the day you were born! Maybe if they would've raised you properly, you wouldn't have turned out selfish!"

"I am not selfish!"

"You are so! You kept insisting that we had to go see _Troyella Forever,_ and then when I said 'no,' you got all mad. And now that I'm trying to be a good friend to you, you're refusing to cooperate with me because you don't want to be friends; you want to be a couple."

"Troy, I loved being a couple! And now you ruined everything."

"_I _ruined everything? Brie, it's not my fault that you wouldn't be flexible and say we could go see a movie we would both like for our first date! I mean, seriously!"

"But you said I could choose the movie!" Gabriella cried.

"No, I just asked you what movie you wanted to see. I never said anything about you choosing. I mean, why would I let you choose? I know you have an obsession with stupid movies like _Troyella Forever!_"

"_Troyella Forever_ is _not_ stupid!" It looks so cute from the preview for it!"

"And do you really think I would like a cute movie?"

"But it seems like it would be romantic..."

"Well, I happen to hate romance, so it looks like it wouldn't be the kind of movie I would enjoy."

"I can tell you hate romance because if you liked it, we would still be in a relationship!"

"You don't get it! The reason we're not in a relationship anymore is because we weren't getting along and I decided that I would rather us be nothing but friends," Troy said, raising his voice slightly.

"We had one fight! One little fight!"

"Brie, what in the world do you have against being best friends? Remember that time when we were six and you told me you were so happy I was your friend? What ever happened to that?"

_Troy and Gabriella were playing in Troy's backyard one Saturday afternoon. From swinging on his swing set to playing with his water guns, it seemed as if they had done every activity it was possible to do._

_"Troy?" Gabriella began as she took a seat beside him on the back porch._

_"What?" Troy responded._

_"I'm so happy you're my friend," Gabriella said with a smile as she leaned over to give him a hug._

_"I'm happy you're my friend, too," Troy returned as he kissed Gabriella on the cheek._

_"Ew, yuck! Troy, don't kiss me!" Gabriella exclaimed, furiously wiping her cheek off with the back of her hand. "That's gross!"_

_"What's going on?" Lucille asked as she came outside to check on Troy and Gabriella._

_"Mrs. Bolton, Troy kissed me!" Gabriella tattled. "Should he be in trouble?"_

_"Troy __**kissed**__ you?" Maria, who was right behind her friend, repeated. "Where did he kiss you?"_

_"Right here." Gabriella pointed to the spot on her cheek that Troy's lips had touched._

_"That means that he likes you, Gabby," Maria explained. "And that he's happy to be your friend. You don't need to get upset about it."_

_"Oh." Upon realizing why Troy had kissed her, Gabriella leaned over and lightly touched her lips to her friend's cheek. "You're the bestest friend ever."_

"Troy, you _kissed_ me that day," Gabriella said. "And I was grossed out by it."

"But when your mom explained that I did it because I liked being your friend, you kissed me back," Troy pointed out.

"That was a long time ago, though. It doesn't matter anymore."

"So? What about when we were seven and we got those best friends forever stickers?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Troy, those were nothing but a pack of stickers that said, 'best friends forever' on them. Do you really count that as something that proved we were best friends then?"

"Or course. In fact, I still have my stickers and that picture you drew of us together," said Troy. The day they had gotten the stickers, Troy and Gabriella had drawn pictures of themselves together, stuck a few stickers on them, and kept the remaining ones for a different time.

"You still have that picture?" Gabriella asked, shocked. "I did a horrible job on that! I drew us as stick figures, you had green eyes instead of blue because my blue crayon was lost, and my hair turned out dark green because I wasn't paying attention to the color I was using and thought it was black...it was terrible! I don't know what made you keep such a thing! I mean, my hair's dark brown! Dark green was way off from it! But when I was little, I just stupidly thought it was black."

"Well, I thought your hair was black, too!"

_"I finished my picture!" Gabriella announced, holding up a paper that had two stick figures on it-one of her and one of Troy-and a bunch of stickers that read 'best friends forever.'_

_"I finished mine, too!" Troy said, showing his newly made drawing to Gabriella. "Do you like it?" In his picture, he and Gabriella were stick figures, only his eyes were the correct color and Gabriella's hair was black. The same stickers that were on Gabriella's picture decorated his, also._

_"I'm gonna give this to you," Gabriella decided. Grabbing a random crayon, she wrote in one corner of it:_

_**To Troy from Gabriella**_

_"Thank you, Brie," Troy said when his best friend handed the picture to him. "I love it! And I'm gonna give you my picture, too." He slid his drawing toward Gabriella._

_"Thanks, Troy!" Gabriella said as she gave her friend a quick hug._

_"You're welcome! And just so you know, I'll keep this picture forever and ever." Troy smiled._

"I don't know where I put the picture you gave to me," Gabriella said. "I guess I never really thought it was that important." She shrugged.

"So, are you admitting those pictures mean something special?" Troy inquired.

Gabriella shook her head slowly. "No. I'm just saying that I don't know where the picture you gave me is and that I didn't think to put it in a safe place because I never thought of it as something super important."

"Well then, what would be an important part of our friendship to you? Our first sleepover, maybe?"

"Nothing really happened there," Gabriella responded as a blank look crossed her face.

"What do you mean? At that time, it was the best night either of us had ever experienced."

_"I'm so excited I get to have a sleepover with you!" Eight-year-old Gabriella exclaimed as she followed Troy into his room, where she dumped her bag of things into a corner. "I've wanted to do this ever since we were in kindergarten, but we were never allowed until now."_

_"I know!" Troy agreed. Now we get to watch movies, play games, and eat snacks all night long! Nothing could ever be better than that!"_

_"Yeah! And I think that we should stay up all night! I've never stayed up that long before! My mom and dad always say I have to be in bed at eight on school nights, and ten over the weekend."_

_"Yeah!" Troy shouted. "This is going to be so much fun!"_

_"Yeah! I'm gonna love it!" Gabriella exclaimed, jumping up and down. "I can't believe we're finally getting to have a sleepover!" She began running around the room, giggling with excitement._

_"Can I see what you brought with you?" Troy asked as he picked up his friend's bag and began to open it. "I hope you have lots of good stuff!"_

_"Sure!" Gabriella stopped running and walked over to Troy. Together, they dumped all the contents of her bag out onto the bed. "I brought as many things as I could fit!"_

_"Yay! You brought your Uno game! I love that!" Troy said as he picked up a small box. His family used to own an Uno game, but half the cards had gotten lost and a few of the remaining ones were torn._

_"Yeah! I love playing Uno with you!"_

_"Oh! And you also have Go Fish! Yes! You're the best friend ever!" Troy flung his arms about Gabriella. _

_"I brought some movies, too; I have Toy Story, Up, and Cars. I know you like all of those."_

_"Yeah, I do! Now, wanna go downstairs and get some ice cream cones?" asked Troy. "My dad bought chocolate chip cookie dough and chocolate peanut butter ice cream with some sugar cones."_

_"Okay!" Gabriella agreed. "I'll race you downstairs!"_

_

* * *

_

_A few hours later, Troy and Gabriella were cuddled up under blankets on the living room sofa watching the ending of Toy Story and eating popcorn from a nearly empty bowl that was located right in between them._

_"Troy and Gabriella," Lucille began as she walked into the room, "When this movie's over, I want you two to get ready and go to bed. It's already eleven-thirty." Before Toy Story, Troy and Gabriella had watched both Cars and Up, and as they were having fun stuffing themselves with junk food and giggling at all the funny parts of the movies, they hadn't even thought about what time it was._

_"Okay," Troy responded reluctantly just as the end credits began to roll down the screen._

_"How about I get the movie out of the DVD player and put away the popcorn bowl now while you two go upstairs in Troy's room, brush your teeth, and get into your pajamas. When you're done all that, I'll make sure you both get settled into bed, and then I'm going to bed with your dad, Troy, so once you're all situated, I don't want to hear lots of noise," Lucille said._

_"Okay. Come on, Brie." Troy rose from his seat and began to walk upstairs, Gabriella following him._

_"Troy! Look at my toothbrush!" Gabriella exclaimed once she and Troy were in his bathroom getting ready to brush their teeth._

_"Ew! It has princesses on it!" Troy said loudly._

_"Well, yours has basketballs!" Gabriella protested. "And basketballs are much worse than princesses! A basketball is just an orange circle with some black lines on it. Princesses have pretty dresses and they wear crowns and they get to live in a castle! And in their castles, they get a really cool room with a huge bed and they get to eat whatever they want for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and then there's always a prince that comes to find them and they live happily ever after."_

_"But when you play basketball, you get to win trophies!" Troy shouted, throwing his arms up in the air. "And trophies are much better than big beds and princes."_

_"Are you two getting ready for bed?" Lucille asked from the doorway to Troy's room. "All I hear is talking."_

_"Yeah, we are," came Troy's quick reply as he and Gabriella both shoved their toothbrushes into their mouths. Once they were finished, they left the bathroom, Troy shut the door to his room, and they got their pajamas and began changing._

_"Troy, you have basketball underwear!" Gabriella giggled._

_"Well, you have princess underwear! That's more weird than basketball underwear!" protested Troy._

_"I also have princess pajamas," Gabriella announced as she held up her top, which had three Disney princesses on it._

_"I have basketball pajamas." Troy showed Gabriella a pair of pants that had basketballs all over them._

_"My pants have princess crowns all over them," said Gabriella while she held up the item so Troy could see it. "And they're really soft."_

_"Mine are probably softer."_

_"I don't think they would be."_

_"Are you getting changed or are you talking?" Lucille asked through the door._

_"Both," Troy replied. _

_"Well,how about you concentrate on getting your pajamas on? It's almost midnight now, and I don't want you two to be too sleepy tomorrow. I was going to take you to see a movie since Gabriella's over, and then we were going to meet her mom and dad for dinner."_

_"Okay," said Troy._

_Troy and Gabriella quickly finished getting into their pajamas, then Troy opened the door. "We're all ready!" he called out._

_"I have to get my sleeping bag set up!" Gabriella realized as she ran over to her things, grabbed her sleeping bag and a pillow, and set them up beside Troy's bed._

_"Okay, well, why don't you get into bed and turn out the lights?" Lucille suggested. Once Troy and Gabriella were both settled, she added, "And remember-I want you two to actually sleep. It's okay if you talk quietly for a few minutes, but I don't want to hear screaming and giggling. Now before I leave, do you need any water bottles up here in case you get thirsty during the night?"_

_"Yes, please," Troy and Gabriella both responded._

_"Alright; I'll get those, then." Lucille left the room, returning only a moment later with two small water bottles in her hands. Placing them on Troy's end table, she kissed her both Troy and Gabriella's foreheads, as over the five years they had been friends, Gabriella had begun to feel like part of the family, said 'good night,' then left the room, gently closing the door behind her._

_"Let's play Uno!" Troy suggested, turning on a light. "We can do it on my bed!"_

_"Yeah!" Gabriella readily agreed, springing up from her sleeping bag, grabbing her Uno game, and hopping onto Troy's bed._

_After the game was set up, Troy and Gabriella began to play it, giggling and shouting with excitement the entire time. Luckily, though, they never got in trouble for it._

_"Let's play again!" Gabriella suggested._

_Once the second round of the game was finished, Troy and Gabriella played it again, and again, and again, and again. By the time they decided they were sleepy, it was nearly two o' clock._

_"Brie, stay in my bed for a little bit," Troy begged after the game was cleaned up._

_"Okay." Yawning, Gabriella crawled under the covers with Troy, who instantly rolled over and pulled the blankets with him._

_"Troy! I'm cold! Give me back some of the blankets!" _

_"But I'm even colder!" Troy protested. "I'm shivering!"_

_Gabriella responded by moving closer and closer to Troy until she was right up against his side._

_"Brie, can you move over a little?" requested Troy. "You're hogging my space."_

_"Well, you're hogging the blankets!"_

_"But they're __**my**__ blankets, not yours, because this is __**my**__ bed," Troy said, his voice almost a mumble due to the intense sleepiness he was experiencing._

_"Couldn't we share both the bed and the blankets?" Gabriella inquired. _

_"I guess we could try," Troy shrugged as he turned his light out. "But if you don't let me have some of them, I'm not gonna want you to stay on my bed for the whole night."_

_"I promise I'll let you have your blankets."_

_"Okay, thanks, well, I'm really tired, so good night." Troy briefly touched his lips to his friend's forehead. They sometimes kissed each other in that way, so it wasn't surprising to Gabriella one bit._

_"Good night," Gabriella returned as she kissed Troy's forehead. Then, after comfortably getting all settled-being sure to stay snuggled with each other-the two of them closed their eyes and allowed sleep to overtake them._

"Okay, well, I have to admit that I loved that sleepover," Gabriella began, "But just because I loved it doesn't mean that I want to be your best friend again."

Troy let out a sigh. "Why?"

"Because for one, you like me as more than just a friend. And for two, it would feel too awkward doing everything we did when we were best friends because I'll never be able to forget that we were together, and I wouldn't quite know how to act around you during awkward moments like that."

"But we've had lots of awkward moments before!" Troy reminded Gabriella.

"Yeah, and they were all after we started liking each other!"

"No, they weren't. There was that one we had when we were nine. Remember? It was when I found the diary you had, started reading it, and you caught me."

_Troy looked around Gabriella's room. She had gone to the bathroom, so he had to be in her room alone for a few minutes. But after the first minute of waiting, he got bored of doing nothing but sitting on her bed looking around aimlessly, so he opened the drawer on her end table and drew out a pink and purple book. Curious, he opened it and began to read what it said inside._

_**March 9**_

_**Today Troy's mom and dad took me and Troy to ice cream after school. I got chocolate and he got chocolate chip cookie dough. After we ate it, we went to my house and did our homework. We didn't have a lot and it didn't take long, so when we were done, we watched a movie. Then, Troy ate dinner at my house. We had chicken, mashed potatoes, and spinach. (I hate spinach. It's gross. Troy doesn't like it, either.) When we were done dinner, we went outside and played tag. Troy's my best friend. I'm so glad I'm friends with him because if I wasn't, I would have no friends. **_

_"Troy, what are you doing?" Gabriella asked as she emerged from her bathroom._

_"Uh...nothing," came Troy's quick reply as he hurriedly shoved his friend's diary back into her drawer and slammed it shut. _

_"Troy, what were you doing?" Gabriella repeated._

_An awkward silence settled upon the room._

_"I uh..." Troy began finally. "I was just um...well, I kind of read your diary," he admitted as his eyes scanned the carpet beneath him. "I was curious about what you wrote in it, and...and I'm really sorry, Brie."_

_Gabriella stood before her best friend, not knowing what to say or do. A situation such as the one she was faced with now had never come up before. However, she finally thought of something to say. "Troy, that's private. My parents gave it to me so that I could write secrets and stuff in it. You shouldn't have looked at it."_

_"I'm sorry, Brie; I'm super sorry," Troy apologized, still refusing to allow his eyes to meet Gabriella's._

_"What were you reading about it there?" Gabriella inquired a bit hesitantly, as the awkwardness was still present._

_"About the day we got ice cream after school and I had dinner at your house," Troy answered. _

_"So you didn't see any secrets?"_

_Troy shook his head._

_After a pause, Gabriella said, "Even if you did read a secret, I tell them all to you anyway, so I guess it wouldn't be that bad. I forgive you." She walked over to Troy and tossed her arms about him. _

_"Thanks, Brie." Troy hugged his friend in return._

Gabriella let out a deep sigh. "But that wasn't something that made things as awkward as they would be if we would be best friends again. Now my dad's probably going to get here soon, so maybe if you would just let go of me so I could grab my things and be ready to jump in the car as soon I see it..."

"Brie, I know you're enjoying being cuddled," said Troy, hugging Gabriella closer to him.

"Well, it is comfy and it helps keep me warm, but you're not my boyfriend anymore-you're not even my friend-so I don't think you should be cuddling me like this. The only reason I gave into it is that I'm used to it since we've been cuddling for so many years."

"You know, if you would just be my best friend again, we could cuddle while watching movies, at sleepovers, on the bus..."

"Troy, friends don't cuddle like crazy," Gabriella pointed out. "If I would ever happen to be your friend again, we would only cuddle when one of us was upset or when we were both tired."

"But when we were just friends we would cuddle all the time. And I would tickle you."

A groan escaped Gabriella's lips. "Yeah, but that was when we liked each other as more than just friends. You aren't getting what I'm saying, are you?"

"Brie, I just want my best friend back!" Troy said in a desperate tone. "In fact, when we were ten, you told me we would never stop being friends, don't you remember that?"

_One summer day when the sun was high in the sky, Troy and Gabriella were eating lunch in Gabriella's backyard, a habit they had picked up almost as soon as fourth grade ended for the both of them._

_"Troy, do you wanna know something?" Gabriella inquired._

_"Sure," Troy replied as he took a bite out of his ham and cheese sandwich._

_"You're a great friend. I don't think we'll ever stop being friends. Even when we're grown up and don't live next to each other anymore, I still want to visit you every week and watch movies, get ice cream, and do everything we do now."_

_"I never want to stop being friends, either. I'd be so bored if you never came over to my house and did stuff with me," said Troy._

"Sometimes things change, Troy," Gabriella started. "When I was ten, I didn't know we were going to end up dating each other one day and that while we were a couple, you were going to randomly break up with me for pretty much no reason at all. And when I said I wanted to visit you every week, well...if we were a couple long enough, we could've gotten married and lived in the same house and...and had kids...and...and..." Gabriella broke off as tears began to pour from her melancholy eyes.

"So basically what you're saying is that you wanted a relationship that would last the rest of our lives? You mean, you meant for me to put up with your manipulation and selfishness forever? Brie, I'm sorry, but after this, I just can't imagine having a life where we're married and have kids. I could, however, see us being best friends forever. But I think you belong with someone that's able to put up with how you get when you're in a relationship."

"B-But I-I d-don't l-like any o-other guys. Y-You're the o-only o-one I w-want t-to date. Y-You're the o-only one I-I w-want to m-marry."

"Brie," Troy spoke sternly, "Why are you talking about marriage? You're a high school freshman. You shouldn't even be thinking of that. It never even crossed my mind the whole short while we were dating."

"E-Ever since I-I w-was t-thirteen, I've w-wanted t-to g-get married w-when I-I was o-out o-of college a-and h-have k-kids."

"And what would be wrong with marrying someone besides me?"

"T-Troy...I-I..." Gabriella took a deep breath, forcing herself to stop crying. "Troy, ever since sixth grade, I had a crush on you. Of course since I was eleven, I wasn't thinking of getting married and stuff, but I would think about holding your hand and you kissing my cheek...and when I was twelve, I...I..." Gabriella broke off, embarrassed to continue. "Well, I...I thought about us kissing...like on the lips kissing. And I thought of us going out to dinner together. And then when I was thirteen, my dreams turned into marrying you, having kids, and getting to be with you every single day and every single night. So when you asked me out, I was thrilled. But now you just ruined everything."

"You liked me since you were eleven?" Troy sounded surprised.

"Yeah, didn't you notice?"

_Troy and Gabriella were lying in Gabriella's bed, ready to go to sleep. It was Saturday night, meaning they were having the weekly sleepover both of them looked forward to very much. However, one of the two wasn't tired. And that was Gabriella, who was staring at her best friend, thinking about how she thought he was cute._

_"Brie, what's wrong?" Troy asked, feeling his friend's stare on him._

_"Nothing," Gabriella replied quickly._

_"Okay, well, I'm tired, so good night." Troy closed his eyes and pulled the covers up to his chin._

_"Wait! You didn't give me a kiss!" Gabriella exclaimed. Troy's kiss was the thing she most looked forward to every Saturday._

_Troy touched his lips to his friend's forehead, earning a broad smile from her. Even though she would've preferred a kiss on the cheek, getting a kiss from him on the usual place he gave it to her was enough to satisfy her. "What are you so happy about?" he asked._

_"I was just thinking of how we had such a good time at the dance tonight." That evening, Troy and Gabriella had gone to the sixth grade dance that had taken place at their middle school. They didn't go as a couple, of course, though a lot of other kids were using the dance as an opportunity to sneak a date with their crush. But instead, Troy and Gabriella just went to hang out with each other and eat the pizza and cookies that were there._

_"Oh, yeah; that was fun. Now good night."_

_Gabriella leaned up and kissed Troy's forehead. "Good night, Troy," she said._

"I really thought you were all happy about the dance!" Troy told Gabriella. "I didn't start liking you until I was almost thirteen, so I wasn't sure what was going on."

"So you liked me when you were twelve, then?"

Troy nodded. "Yeah. You were the only thing on my mind, and every night before I would go to bed, I would think about taking you out to dinner, to the movies, buying you ice cream...but mostly, I thought about kissing you, and how wonderful it would be. And whenever you would want to wear my t-shirts or shorts, I would tell myself that you wanted them because you liked me as more than a friend, since wearing stuff like that is what girlfriends do. Also, I loved sleepovers more than ever because it meant that I got to cuddle up with you, and the fact that you never objected to it made me think you had a crush on me, too. But as you can tell, I was always too scared to ask you out, because I didn't know if you really liked me or not. And besides, I couldn't ask you out because my parents had this 'no dating until high school' rule."

"That time when you kissed my cheek before we went to sleep...were you trying to get me to admit that I liked you then?" Gabriella inquired.

"Yeah," Troy admitted, embarrassed. "I was nervous about saying that I had a crush on you, so I sort of wanted you to mention it first so I would know whether or not you liked me as more than a best friend."

"And when you were twelve and you kept looking at me and taking pictures of me at dances...was that the first sign you gave that you liked me?"

Troy nodded. "Yeah; it was."

_That evening was the evening the back to school dance at Northeast Albuquerque Middle School was to be held, and, obviously, Troy and Gabriella were going together-as best friends, of course._

_"Wow, Brie...uh...um...could I get a picture of you?" Troy requested the second he saw Gabriella. She was wearing a short sleeved purple dress that came a bit below her knees and wasn't too tight, but not too baggy, either. It had a v-neck that was age appropriate for her, as the dress was made for girls her age, and possessed two strings that tied in the back at the waistline. The dress perfectly coordinated with her silver ballet flats and the silver headband that held her dark curls out of her face, which bore no make-up, as she hadn't started wearing any yet. Even though her look wasn't anything really special, Troy thought Gabriella was the cutest, prettiest girl he'd seen in his entire life. No girl at school-not the cheerleaders, not the popular girls, not anyone-looked as good as he thought his best friend looked._

_"Sure," Gabriella replied. "But why?" She shrugged._

_"Because I want to remember this dance," Troy lied. _

_"Okay," Gabriella agreed, believing the answer her best friend had given her._

_"Alright, then; you can stand either stand somewhere in here or sit down on the couch; you can pick either one."_

_Gabriella took a seat and smiled as Troy grabbed his camera from its place on the coffee table in front of the sofa._

_"Alright, I'm done," Troy announced, putting his camera down and sitting beside his best friend. Giving her a hug, he kissed her forehead. "I'm so glad to see you."_

_"I'm glad to see you, too, even though the last time we saw each other was only a few hours ago."_

_"You're the best friend ever," Troy smiled. "I'm really happy you moved next door to me."_

_"I'm glad, too, because I could never have a friend that was a better friend than you," said Gabriella._

"Do you still have that picture you took of me?" Gabriella inquired curiously.

Troy nodded. "Of course I do; I would never get rid of any pictures I have of you. Well, I kind of want to destroy all the pictures and videos of us running around naked as toddlers, but those things are just embarrassing. All the other ones I want to keep for the rest of my life."

"Well, it's probably good you saved them all because you might not see me much anymore other than going to and from my dad's car and at school, because I still am hesitant to become friends with you again," Gabriella said coldly.

"Brie, what's up? I thought I just got you in a good mood, and now all of a sudden you're changing back to a bad one! I mean, we were just talking fine a minute ago."

"Troy, if you don't know what's wrong, you're an idiot," Gabriella said, pulling away from her ex-boyfriend.

"Brie, I've been able to tell what's going on with you for years now, but at the moment, things just aren't making sense," said Troy desperately.

"Maybe that's because _you_ don't make sense!" Gabriella spat. "I mean, we decided to become a couple, but then we never went on a date. And then when you finally decide to plan one and ask _me_ what movie we should go see, you back out and break up with me."

"We should talk things out, Brie. Remember? Like we did when we were thirteen and I noticed you were upset about something. That worked out perfectly well. I found out what was wrong, and I did what I could to make you feel better."

_Gabriella was sitting dejectedly on her porch when Troy came out of his house and noticed her. "Brie!" he exclaimed, rushing up to her and giving her a tight hug before taking a seat beside her. _

_"Hey, Troy," Gabriella mumbled in return as she stared at the cement beneath her feet._

_"What's wrong?" inquired Troy, concerned. "You look upset about something." He pulled her into another hug._

_"I don't want to talk about it," Gabriella insisted quietly as she picked up a dead leaf lying in front of her and crumpled it into tiny pieces._

_"You know, if you never talk about it, your problem will never get better. And I'm your best friend; you can tell me anything-you know that, Brie," Troy said in a gentle tone._

_Gabriella paused, took a deep breath, and then began speaking. "In my science class today, this girl made fun of me; she said I was stupid because I only had one friend and that I had an ugly face and would never date anyone in my entire life..." Gabriella trailed off as tears trickled down her cheeks._

_"Aw, Brie, you're not ugly," Troy comforted. "And it's not bad to only have one friend. You're my only friend and I'm not bad...or at least I don't think I am."_

_Gabriella let out a small giggle at Troy's last phrase._

_"See? I'm making you laugh. I'm a great friend, aren't I?"_

_Gabriella began to laugh harder. "Troy, you're so funny," she remarked. "And you're right; it's perfectly fine to have one friend...but am I really not ugly? Or were you just saying that to make me feel better?"_

_"Of course I wasn't just saying it. I would never lie to you, Brie. Ever." Troy placed a kiss onto his best friend's forehead._

_"Thanks, Troy," Gabriella smiled. "You made me feel a lot better."_

"But that wasn't nearly as serious as this is!" Gabriella protested. "This time, I'm upset because of something _you_ did-not some random person at school-but _you_."

"Brie, listen to me. What if, for our first date, I insisted we had to go see the newest _Star Wars_ movie and no matter what you said or did, I refused to change my mind?"

"You wouldn't do that, Troy," Gabriella mumbled.

"Well then, if I wouldn't do it to you, then why did you go and do it to me?" Troy asked, curiousity obvious in his tone.

"Because I thought I was spoiled! I remember you saying that you wanted me to be your spoiled girlfriend. You never said you would only spoil me at certain times or under certain conditions! You lied!" shouted Gabriella as she stood up and balled her hands into tight fists.

"So basically you just wanted to be nothing but a spoiled brat like every other cheerleader at East High?" Troy yelled.

Angry tears stung Gabriella's eyes. "I don't want to be a cheerleader! I _never_ wanted to be one! The only reason I tried out for the team was because of you. I hate Carissa and Rachel and pretty much everyone on there except for Martha! I hate having to wear that little cheerleading uniform that feels like it barely covers me up! I hate that all the guys stare at the cheerleaders-and therefore stare at me. I hate going to games every single Friday night! And now I hate cheerleading even more because every time I go to a game, I'll have to see you. In fact, I hate it so much now that I'm gonna quit as soon as I get to school on Monday!"

"Brie, calm down," Troy said gently. "I didn't know you hated being a cheerleader so much. And if you did, why didn't you just tell me you wanted to stop? Why when I was suggesting that you try out for the team didn't you just say 'no' to me? I wouldn't have gotten angry with you."

"It's just that I didn't want to disappoint you," Gabriella admitted. "Because at that time, I actually liked you, and thought that if I joined the cheerleading team, you would like me back."

"But if it wasn't something you wanted to do..." Troy let out a deep sigh. "You know, I'm really, really sorry, Brie. I'm sorry for making you feel like you had to do something you really didn't want to do. I'm sorry I didn't make it seem like you could quit cheerleading if you hated it. I would be mad, too, if you made me do something...like I'm furious about the whole hip hop thing!"

"Well, I'm not doing that, either! I just wanted to do it because I thought it would be fun for, as a couple, us to take dance classes together. But now that you broke up with me, I'm telling my dad to call the studio and say that I changed my mind and don't want to do hip hop anymore."

"I'm gonna quit, too!"

"I don't care what you do!" Gabriella shouted. "As long as it's not anything to do with me, I don't care."

"Sit down, Brie," Troy said with a sigh. "This argument is getting out of hand. We should discuss this in a calm way with no shouting, name calling, or whatever else we're doing."

Gabriella reluctantly sat across from Troy.

"Now I'm gonna tell you the exact reasons why I broke up with you. First of all, you were being manipulative. Secondly, you were being selfish. And thirdly, I decided that I liked being your best friend a lot better than your boyfriend. Being your boyfriend just wasn't as great as I thought it was going to be. Now, why don't you tell me how you feel about this?"

"Well, I feel hurt, I feel angry...I just feel like I'm not good enough, and-" Gabriella broke off upon seeing her father's car pull up. "And I gotta go. I don't want to keep my dad waiting." Gabriella grabbed her things and sprinted toward the car.

"Wait! Brie! I wanna go back with you!" Troy called. "Just give me five minutes to go back to the tent, get my stuff, and come back."

"And why should I do that?" wondered Gabriella as she rolled her eyes.

"Because I want to finish sorting things out," came Troy's reply.

"You know, no matter what you do, nothing will ever be the same, Troy. We can never have sleepovers like we used to, we can never hang out like we used to, we can never go anywhere together like before...everything will be different now."

"Brie, nothing _has _to be different. You're just making a big deal out of something that shouldn't be this big of a deal."

"Troy, just let me go home by myself. Please. I need a break from you. Stay here and move into Ryan and Jason's tent or something. Have a good time. And when you get home, I'll let you know whether or not I want to be your friend."

"Brie, please, I want to go back home with you."

"No, Troy. I really need to get away from you. I don't want to be around you right now. After everything was going perfectly well, you just went and cut off our relationship."

"And again, you're not understanding what I'm telling you. Things were going far from well; you knew that. In fact, you were the cause of the bad things; I told you that a few times today. You didn't want to cooperate in our relationship, and I can't get along with someone that's not working with me to make things go good, so..."

"Troy, you caused the worse thing out of all the things that happened-you broke us up."

"Gabby, are you coming?" David called from inside the car. "We should really start heading home before it gets too late."

"Yeah, Dad," Gabriella replied as she climbed into the passenger seat.

"Mr. Montez, I'm coming, too," Troy announced. "Just please give me five minutes to get my stuff together."

"Wait, why is he coming?" David asked his daughter, for Troy had run off to his tent before he could ask him what was going on. "I thought you two were fighting."

"We are. But he's insisting on getting us to become friends again, and even though I told him I'd rather be away from him for a little while, he's still insisting on coming home with me. It's kind of annoying, but I guess things will just be worse than they are now if we leave him behind." Gabriella shrugged.

A couple minutes after Gabriella was finished speaking, Troy came racing up to the car. Upon reaching it, he hopped into the back seat, dumped his things next to him, and buckled his seatbelt while Gabriella cast him a glare over her shoulder.

"What?" Troy mouthed as he shrugged his shoulders.

"I'll text you," Gabriella mouthed back as she drew her phone from her bag and began writing a message to Troy. She didn't want to have another conversation about the events that had occurred that day in front of her dad, but she was dying to finish things up and find out what was going on, so she'd thought of a way for her and Troy to discuss the matter silently.

_i hate u rite now,_ Gabriella typed before hitting the 'send' button.

_y? wat did i do? i just want 2 go home w/ u Brie,_ Troy sent in return.

_well i wanna be alone. i need a nice long break from u Troy. u just don't understand,_ Gabriella typed.

_well i wanna work things out. i dont wanna lose u as my best friend,_ Troy wrote.

_but i dont wanna be ur bff. i want us 2 date,_ Gabriella replied.

_i dont think i can handle a relationship w/ u, Brie,_ came Troy's response.

_y? b/c u think im selfish? im not selfish. i think ur being the selfish one now,_ typed Gabriella.

_how m i selfish? im not the one who begged u to go 2 a movie u had no interest in seeing,_ Troy replied.

_watever loser :P _Gabriella sent as a reply.

_:P_ Troy wrote back.

_y r u sticking ur tongue out me?_ asked Gabriella.

_b/c u did it 2 me. i was just playing along with ur game,_ Troy responded.

_i did it 2 u cuz ur being an idiot,_ Gabriella typed.

_how?_ wondered Troy.

_ur just not understanding anything i say. all i want is 4 us 2 be in a relationship. we were bffs b4 we got 2gether and after that i liked being w/ u more than ever. but now that we broke up i dont think a friendship would work between us again if u get what im trying 2 tell u,_ Gabriella sent in response to Troy's question.

_well i like being friends better than being a couple,_ Troy wrote.

_watever. well talk about it back home. k?_ Gabriella said.

_sure watever. my battery's dying anyway,_ Troy responded.

Troy and Gabriella both tucked their phones back into their bags and, for the rest of the ride back to their homes, didn't utter a word. Instead, they each kept to themselves, both of them refusing to look at one another. And on the rare occassion that they would catch each other's glances, their eyes turned icy and their lips hardered in an angry scowl, yet at the same time, both of them looked as if tears were about to start pouring down their cheeks at any moment.

Things were going terribly.

* * *

**INGREDIENTS:**

**9,800 words (10,238 counting this note and the one to Zac)**

**19 1/2 pages (20 pages with one line on the 21st page counting this note and the one to Zac)**

**A Troyella fight:(**

**A super long birthday note to Zac**

**Okay, now I'm going to post a poll on my page for every chapter I post, so if you would like to go vote in it, you can. This chapter's question...which flashback was your favorite? You can pick from all 6 of them:)**

**Oh, if you didn't read about this up in the note to Zac, I thought you would like to know that in interviews, he announced that kissing Vanessa is always great and that he would risk his life ten times over for her:)**

**Questions? Comments? Concerns? Contact me using the link below OR by PM. I'd love to hear from you!**


	14. Staying with the Boltons

**Today's HSM3's 2nd anniversary! Yay!**

**Enjoy the chapter:)**

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* * *

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Gabriella began to silently unpack her things and place them where she wanted them to be. Her toothbrush, toothpaste, and make-up was placed on the counter of Troy's bathroom, her clothes were stuffed in the drawers of his dresser she knew were vacant, and her school things were tossed in a corner.

Because her father was required to go on a two week business trip, her mother was away with her boyfriend on a Hawaiian cruise, and she had no relatives near her, David had told her she would need to stay with the Boltons while he was gone. That thought made Gabriella feel sick to her stomach, as even though an entire week had passed since the break-up, she and Troy weren't speaking. It was as if they had gone from best friends to a couple to worst enemies.

"What are you doing in my room?"

Gabriella wheeled around to see Troy standing before her, a hard scowl on his lips. "Your parents told me that I should sleep in here while I'm staying, so I was just getting comfortable," she answered.

"So you're going to be sleeping beside me for two entire weeks? That can't be true," Troy spoke coldly.

"Well, I was sort of hoping your mom and dad told you to sleep on the couch, but if they didn't..."

"Oh, don't worry; I'll gladly sleep downstairs without even being asked. As long as I don't have to be with you." Troy's icy eyes pierced Gabriella's. "But I just want you to know that this is still my room and I can come in it anytime I want. And also, my toothbrush and toothpaste are in my bathroom, so I'll need to get in there in the morning."

"Well, if the door's shut to either your room or the bathroom, knock," said Gabriella.

"I don't have to. It's my room. I can come in whenever I want."

"Troy, I don't want you to just randomly walk in. I want to have privacy. It's bad enough that I have to be under the same roof as you; the last thing I need is to be in the same room as you more than I have to."

"That's too bad," Troy shrugged. "You should've thought about all this before you got all selfish and manipulative."

"Shut up."

"Get out of my house."

"This is not your house! It's your parents' house! And they said I could stay here while my dad's away."

"Well then, get out of my life. I don't want to see you, hear you, or talk to you. I won't come in my room at all anymore, I'll eat meals in a different room than you, and I'll ask my dad to drop me off at school so I don't have to go to the bus stop with you."

"Good. I will get out of your life. But only because I don't want you in mine, either. Now get whatever you need out of here and get out."

Troy grabbed his toothbrush and toothpaste along with several articles of clothing and marched out of the room, not saying a word.

"What are you doing?" Jack asked his son as he met up with him in the hall.

"Taking all the stuff I need out of my room so that I don't have to be in there at the same time as the brat that's staying with us," Troy responded.

"Troy, I want you to be polite. I know you and Gabriella are in a little disagreement right now, but-"

"_Little?_ This disagreement is anything but little."

"Well, that doesn't matter. All I'm going to ask is for you to be polite to her while she's staying here and make her feel welcome. You know the things likes to do. Why don't you have a movie night with her after dinner or something? I don't want her to be stuck up in your room and you lounging around downstairs for her entire visit. That would be unfair."

"I will _not_ have a movie night with her! A movie is why we broke up in the first place, remember?"

"At least invite her to play on the Wii with you, then. Knowing how you get when you play video games, I don't think you'll even be thinking about fighting while you're doing that," said Jack.

"Do I _have_ to?"

Jack sighed. "Let's think about it this way: how would you feel if you had to stay at Gabriella's house for two weeks and you could do nothing but sit around in her room?"

"I would be fine with it as long as I didn't have to be around her." A look of disgust came upon Troy's face.

"Well, I still want you to put all the stuff you're holding back in your room-we don't need to see your dirty boxers all over the living room-and ask Gabriella to do something after dinner."

"Fine." Rolling his eyes, Troy walked back into his bedroom. Angrily shoving stuff back into his closet and drawers, he said, "Gabriella, my dad's forcing us to do something together after dinner. Do you want to play Wii or watch a movie of _my_ choice?"

"No. My plans for tonight are to take a bubble bath and paint my nails with the pink nail polish Sharpay's letting me borrow."

"Good. That's the way I wanted it." Troy stomped out of the room.

"So, what are you doing?" Jack inquired.

"Nothing. She's having a girly night with herself." Troy wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"Why don't you ask her if you can join in? If it's something she wants to do, maybe she'll want some company."

"Ew, Dad. I refuse to get my nails done in pink and I'm most definitely not taking a bubble bath with her; that's just sick."

"Oh, she's having that kind of girly night. I thought you just meant she wanted to watch _High School Musical _or look on YouTube for Zanessa videos. So yeah, I changed my mind. Stay away from her this evening."

"I was planning to do that."

"Oh, and Troy, I'll be looking up lots of cute Zanessa videos and watching _High School Musical 3 _on my laptop, too," Gabriella called out from Troy's room. "So if you want to come in here so I can irritate you, feel free to."

"Tell her you'll do it!" Jack urged.

"No, thanks," Troy responded.

"Troy! I want you two to do something together, now come on. You've been best friends since you were three, you've gone through everything together, and now all of a sudden you're hating on each other. You've gotta stop this! Now tonight after Gabriella's done her bath and her nails are dry, I want you to get in there, sit next to her, and watch whatever she wants to watch. If you're nice, she might even let you pick a YouTube video to look at."

"I'm not sitting through _High School Musical_!"

"If I put up with stuff like that since I was a high school sophomore, you can put up with it for two hours. Enjoy it now before you get into a serious relationship and marry someone you can't stand to say 'no' to every time she asks you to take her to a romance movie."

"Whatever."

* * *

That night after Gabriella was bathed, dried, and dressed in her warm pajamas and her nails-both fingers and toes-were nicely polished in a soft pink color, she shouted, "Troy! Come up here!"

Rolling his cerulean eyes, Troy walked upstairs and into his room. Sitting down on his bed as far away from Gabriella as possible, a look of anger swept over his face. "Let's get this over with, brat."

Ignoring Troy's choice of words, Gabriella began to play the DVD. For the first ten minutes of it, the two teenagers were silent, Gabriella intently watching Zac Efron, who she thought looked even hotter than usual when he was all sweaty, play basketball, and Troy staring everywhere but at the laptop screen. However, when the part where Troy and Gabriella were sitting in Troy's tree house came on and Gabriella was sleepily resting her head against Troy's shoulder and closing her eyes, Gabriella burst into tears. "W-Why c-can't w-we b-be l-like t-that?"

"I knew you were gonna cry during this," Troy said as he rolled his eyes.

"B-But look a-at t-them! T-They're s-so p-perfect, T-Troy's s-so s-sweet and g-gentle w-with G-Gabriella...w-why c-can't w-we b-be like t-that?"

"Because the Troy on the screen probably has a high tolerance of bratty girls that walk all over him. This Troy," Troy pointed to himself, "has no tolerance with that whatsoever."

"Y-You never r-really l-liked m-me, d-did y-you?" Gabriella sniffled as she grabbed a tissue from the box that was in her lap, blew her nose, and wiped some of her tears away.

"I did."

"B-But if y-you l-liked m-me, w-why...w-why d-did y-you always w-want y-your o-own way?"

"Gabriella, listen to me. I have to admit that you're a real cutie on the outside, but on the inside, you're ugly. You're demanding, selfish, and all the other bad things I've said about you that I don't feel like repeating," said Troy.

"W-What about w-when w-we w-were f-friends?" Gabriella, inquired, taking another tissue from the box. "W-Was I-I b-better then?"

"When we were friends, I thought you were a really sweet and affectionate girl. I loved how you always wanted to cuddle up to me, how you were so comfortable around me that you could do and say anything you wanted without being embarrassed, and how you would know just how to cheer me up when I was upset about something. But then the second we admitted our feelings for each other, you were at least a little uncomfortable with everything we used to do as friends and for a day or two, you were cautious about showing me any type of affection. It's almost as if you didn't want to date me and you were feeling like I was pressuring you to."

"Troy, I did want to date you," Gabriella sighed as she forced her tears to cease. "I was just nervous about being your girlfriend and didn't know how to act around you after we said we liked each other."

"So you decided to change your whole self?"

"I didn't realize I was changing in any way. I was too nervous to notice that."

"Why were you nervous? You've known me for almost your entire life."

"When you have a boyfriend with handsome blue eyes that are as handsome as yours and a smile that makes you want to melt, it's hard to not be nervous."

"You know, I have to admit that I was scared, too. I was scared because my relationship with you was changing, I was scared about taking you out for the first time, I was scared I would take things either too fast or too slow for you and you wouldn't like me..."

"Troy, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Troy answered.

"If we never became a couple, would you have gone with me to see _Troyella Forever?_"

"As boring and girly as that movie sounds, yes, I probably would've gone with you. After all, I had to sit through every movie in the _High School Musical_ series, right? But just...I was scared that something would go wrong while we were there, I was scared you would want your first kiss that night, I was scared that after seeing Troy and Gabriella lying in the grass making out like it shows in the commercial that you would want to try that, and also-and this is really embarrassing-I was...well, I was scared you would get curious about...well, you know..."it"...I mean, that movie's rated PG-13 and it sounds like it could get a little...well...a little dirty."

"Well, I went to see it with Sharpay yesterday and while there was one scene where the night after Troy proposed, he and Gabriella woke up in bed together-but the blankets were covering them, so it wasn't inappropriate at all-the only things that were in there was heavy making out and a part where Gabriella stayed overnight at Troy's apartment."

"I guess I just didn't know what things that movie would make you think." Troy shrugged. "And I was too nervous to talk about private, personal things with you, like "it" or touching private areas..."

"Oh, Troy, they never touched each other in that way during the movie," Gabriella quickly assured.

"I didn't know that, though."

"I know."

"And now, Brie, I just have one question for you."

"And what's that?" wondered Gabriella.

"Do you want a hug?" Troy held his arms out.

A bright smile lighting up her face, Gabriella wrapped her arms around Troy and laid her head on his chest. "Thanks," she murmured softly. "I needed that."

"So," Troy, who was still holding Gabriella close to him, began. "Did you have a nice bubble bath?"

Gabriella nodded in response.

"And can I see your nails?"

Gabriella stretched out her legs so Troy could see the color of nail polish on her toes and held up her hands so he could look at her fingers.

"It looks like you did a good job painting them," Troy remarked with a smile. "Now, how about I let go of you, go downstairs, and bring up some ice cream cones for us? Sound good?"

Troy's words earned another nod from Gabriella.

"Why are you being so quiet?" Troy inquired curiously. "You were talking, then all of a sudden, you just got quiet. Is something wrong?"

Gabriella shrugged.

"You know Brie, you can tell me if you're upset about something, or if you feel sick, or if you're sleepy. You don't have to feel like you need to hide things," Troy spoke gently.

"Are you...well, are you being nice to me because you want to be my friend again or because you want to be my boyfriend?" Gabriella inquired hesitantly as she began to chew on her lip and stare down at the floor.

"Um..."

Sighing, Gabriella said, "If you're not sure, then that's okay. I'll just stay away from you until you decide what you want."

Just as she finished speaking, Troy's cell phone began to beep, indicating that he had just received a text. As he reached over for the noise object and flipped it open, Gabriella took a glance at the message he had just received, then allowed her gaze to wander to the name of the sender.

"What are you doing?" Troy asked, annoyed, while trying his best to hide his phone from the girl that was sitting with him.

"You know Troy, you're a real idiot," Gabriella spat. Turning off _High School Musical 3_, she rushed into the bathroom, where she sat against the wallpapered wall and sobbed.

* * *

**Okay, I know I said this story wouldn't have a lot of drama. This whole problem with Troyella breaking up wasn't even planned, to tell you the truth. It just sort of happened. After this is resolved, they probably won't break up again since it would be a little too much for them to do that repeatedly in this story. I'm going to try to wrap up the drama within the next three chapters. There will be minor problems later on that will cause a little conflict, but another thing like this isn't planned at all.**

**Does everyone still like this story? Did some of you forget about it? Last time I updated, I didn't seem to get a lot of reviews compared to the chapters before chapter 13 and only 3 people voted in my poll about this story, so I'm sorry if I disappointed someone with this and I understand if you don't want to read anymore. It would be great if people that are still reading could let me know, though, and if you're someone that's getting bored with this story, any suggestions to make it more interesting would be greatly appreciated:) My goal is to keep the interesting stuff going.**

**The poll question for this week is, 'How many more chapters do you think it will take for Troyella to get back together?'**

**So, who do you think Troy got the text from? Do you think Troyella are going to get back together as friends first and then start dating again or just start dating again? How do you think the rest of this stay with the Boltons is going to go for Gabriella? And is Troy thinking about getting back together with her? Please give your thoughts:)**


	15. Sick Day

"Brie?" Troy spoke gently as he twisted the knob of the bathroom door and walked inside. Noticing Gabriella, he took a seat beside her. "What's wrong?"

"T-That t-text...T-Troy, y-you l-like h-her b-better than me," Gabriella sobbed, refusing to turn her face toward Troy's.

"What are you talking about?"

"T-That t-text...it s-said i-it was f-from s-some girl n-named Laura. I-I d-don't k-know w-who she i-is, b-but..."

Troy began to laugh. "Brie, that was from my grandma."

"Don't lie to me," Gabriella snapped as she hurriedly wiped her tears away with the back of her hand.

"I'm not; last time my family went to visit my grandparents, my grandma made me show her how to text, and ever since then, she's been sending me messages at least once a week," Troy explained.

"Then why were you mad that I was looking at what it said?"

"Because it's embarrassing that she texts me-_really_ embarrassing. I hate it so much, but no matter what I do, she never stops."

A giggle escaped Gabriella's lips.

"So, are you alright now?" inquired Troy.

Gabriella nodded as she let out a huge yawn.

"Okay, well how about we go to bed now; you seem tired. Do you want me to sleep with you or downstairs?"

"Downstairs, please," Gabriella murmured.

"Alright. I'll see you in the morning, then; good night." Kissing her forehead, Troy began walking away to change into some shorts and a t-shirt and go downstairs to try to settle on the couch and go to sleep.

"'Night," mumbled Gabriella while rising from her spot and wandering into Troy's room. After a minute, she saw him emerge from his bathroom and walked downstairs, so she closed the door, changed into the tank top and shorts she usually slept in, brushed her teeth, then crawled into bed.

* * *

"Troy?" Gabriella moaned as she heard a knock at the bedroom door the next morning.

"Yeah, it's me, Brie. Can I come in?" said Troy.

"Sure."

Troy entered his room.

"I don't feel good," Gabriella groaned. "I threw up three times last night, my head's pounding, and my throat is killing me."

Troy instantly grew worried. "Oh, Brie," he murmured, walking over to Gabriella. Brushing some hair out of her face, he touched his lips to her forehead. "You feel a little warm."

"What's going on?" Lucille, who had just come out of her room, asked.

"Brie doesn't feel good. She was throwing up last night, she has a really bad headache, and her throat's sore," Troy replied.

"Do you want to stay with her today? Your dad and I can't really get out of work, and I don't want to leave her here all alone while she's that sick."

"Brie, do you want me to stay with you?" Troy inquired, turning from his mom to the girl that was lying in his bed.

Gabriella responded by patting the empty space beside her on the bed.

"You want me to lie down with you?"

Troy's question was answered with a nod.

"Do you think you two are going to get along if I leave you home alone?" asked Lucille.

"Yes," replied Troy while Gabriella nodded again.

"Okay, well, I hope you feel better, Gabriella. Troy, I want you to take good care of her. Let her have whatever she wants-and that means if she wants soup or Jell-o, you make it for her. If she wants to watch a movie you don't like, you sit down with her and watch it."

"Alright."

After closing Troy's bedroom door, Lucille walked away to get ready for work.

"Cuddle me, please," Gabriella begged sweetly with a cough as she looked at Troy with chocolate eyes that were glazed over with sickness.

Getting into his bed, Troy wrapped his arms around Gabriella and kissed the top of her head. "I thought you didn't like me that much anymore, but now you're asking for cuddles."

"That's because I don't feel good."

"It's not because you still like me?"

"Troy, I've _always_ liked you; I just got a little upset with you when you broke up with me-and I still am upset." A cough and a groan followed Gabriella's words.

"I've actually been thinking about getting back together with you for a couple days now," said Troy as he began to run his fingers through Gabriella's hair. "And I even have a great idea for our first date."

"What?"

"I'm gonna take you to see _Troyella Forever_ again."

"Really? You don't have to, Troy; you really don't. I already saw it and you didn't even want to see it in the first place..." Gabriella trailed off.

"Brie, I'm taking you no matter what," insisted Troy.

"Well, tha-" The words coming from Gabriella's mouth were cut off as she suddenly threw up. All over part of herself and Troy.

"You okay?" Troy checked, feeling a little panicked as his girlfriend grabbed a tissue from the box that was beside the bed and wiped her mouth off.

Gabriella nodded. "I'm sorry," she began groggily.

"Don't be, princess." Troy touched his lips to the top of Gabriella's head. "How about we just both get showers-in separate bathrooms, of course-change, then go downstairs and watch a movie or something."

"I don't feel up to a shower," Gabriella moaned.

"How about a bath? I'll get the water all ready for you."

Gabriella shook her head.

"Brie, you have to get cleaned up one way or another. And after you do, you'll probably feel a whole lot better than you do now," Troy coaxed as he ran his fingers through Gabriella's hair.

"I really don't feel good," whimpered Gabriella.

"Well, then, at least just change into clean clothes while I go get a shower in the main bathroom. I'll leave mine open in case you have to throw up again," said Troy.

Gabriella nodded slowly in agreement.

"Okay; I'll be back in about ten minutes, then we can go downstairs and watch a movie. How does that sound?"

"Good."

"Alright, great." Troy rose from his bed, grabbed some Wildcats sweat pants and a t-shirt from his closet, then exited his room and headed toward the bathroom, in which he shut himself.

While Troy showered, Gabriella changed into a comfortable pair of sweat pants she had brought for her stay at the Bolton house, one of Troy's t-shirts, and a thick sweatshirt she owned that was becoming worn down, but was awfully warm.

"Hey," Troy greeted as he walked into his room, rubbing his damp locks dry with a fluffy green towel. "I see you got changed."

Gabriella nodded.

"How about we go downstairs now and find something interesting to watch?" suggested Troy. "And while we watch it, I'll rub your shoulders and feet. Does that sound good?"

"M-hm," Gabriella replied, a grateful expression washing over her pale face.

"I'm gonna carry you downstairs," Troy decided, lifting his girlfriend into his arms. As she tightly fastened her slender arms around his neck, he remarked, "You're such a cutie, you know that?"

"No," answered Gabriella.

Troy touched his lips to the top of his girlfriend's head. "Well, you are."

"Do I get to pick what movie we watch since I don't feel good?" asked Gabriella.

"Yeah, but try not to pick a _High School Musical_ movie, okay? I'm really sick of those."

"Okay. I was thinking of picking something else anyway just because I'm tired and I'll probably fall asleep during it, so that would leave you to watch it alone."

"What were you thinking of?" Troy, as he approached the sofa, took a seat on it, being sure to keep Gabriella in his lap.

After a cough, Gabriella turned around to face Troy and give him a mischievous smile.

"I can tell by that face that this movie you're picking isn't one I'm going to like."

"You might like it."

Troy let out a deep sigh. "What is it, princess?"

"_Charlie St. Cloud_," Gabriella replied.

A groan escaped Troy's lips. "Can't you pick something without Zac Efron in it? Seriously-that guy creeps me out. He looks like some kind of stalker."

"Does not!" protested Gabriella.

"Does, too!" insisted Troy.

"Well, next time you can pick the movie, okay?"

"Okay, I guess we can make that a deal, then. But I don't know how we're going to watch this movie since I don't even have it."

"I brought it," giggled Gabriella. "Just in case of an emergency like this."

"Alright; go get it, put it in the DVD player, and let the torture begin."

"It's not torture, Troy."

"Just go get the movie so I can get this over with."

"Troy, listen," Gabriella began. "You said I could pick out the movie and you're complaining about it. Now what happened last time we had a fight over a movie?"

"We broke up," Troy answered, looking down at the ground beneath him and shuffling his feet.

"Yeah, exactly. And since we just got back together, I don't think it would be a good idea to get into another fight, so please accept the movie I chose, watch it without a complaint, and enjoy spending time with me. Later this week, we can watch something that _you_ want to watch, so it's all good. There's nothing unfair about this compromise."

"I get it," Troy responded. "And I promise I'll try my best to keep quiet during the movie."

"Thank you. Now-" Gabriella broke off into a coughing fit and, running into the bathroom, slammed the door behind her.

"I'll get the movie from your bag of stuff," Troy called, rushing upstairs. Upon reaching his bedroom, he hurried into it, spotted his girlfriend's bag, and, walking up to it, rummaged through its contents. However, before he came across the movie, he discovered an interesting item: a crumpled sheet of paper. Curiously flattening it out and looking it over, he read the words:

_I'm not ready to admit this,  
__But I feel like I have to say,  
__I'm ready for my first kiss,  
__Though we've only been dating for a day._

_I want it to be under the star-lit sky,  
__On a nice clear night.  
__I want it in a place where no one can spy,  
__And where the moon gives off romantic light._

_I know that some people would say it was insane,  
__But I just feel it would be right.  
__My heart is speaking to me, not my brain,  
__And it's telling me I'm ready for that night._

Troy quickly slid the paper back into his girlfriend's bag and searched for her _Charlie St. Cloud_ DVD. Upon finding it, he headed downstairs, his head filled with thoughts of the poem he had found about he and Gabriella having their first kiss.

"Troy, are you okay?" Gabriella asked when she spotted her boyfriend. "You seem...distracted."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about stuff."

"What stuff?"

"Well, I found a poem you wrote about us having our first kiss," confessed Troy as his face turned red.

"Oh." Gabriella appeared to be more embarrassed than Troy during her quiet reply.

"And anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I'm ready to kiss you anytime you want, so..."

"Yeah, well...uh...um...can we discuss this another time?" Gabriella twisted her tangled hair as she cautiously avoided Troy's eye.

"Sure; let's just put the movie in now," Troy replied, relieved to get out of talking about kissing Gabriella. As much as he wanted to, he thought having a conversation about it would be awkward.

Once Troy had the movie in the DVD player, Gabriella crawled onto his lap and snuggled against his chest. "You know, Zac Efron's cute and all, but you're a lot cuter."

"Thanks for telling me that," Troy smiled as he kissed Gabriella's cheek, earning a broad smile from her.

"No problem," murmured Gabriella as she yawned and closed her eyes.

Troy ran his fingers through his girlfriend's disheveled locks and rested his chin on top of her head. "I love having a girlfriend like you."

"And I love that I got sick today."

* * *

**So, how was it? I know the poem was kind of stupid, but I'm horrible at poetry, so...anyway, I hope it didn't prevent you all from enjoying this chapter. LOL.**

**Oh, and just letting you know, Troy's opinion of Zac Efron was random. I don't think he looks like a stalker at all-I love him-but it was just the first thing that came in my head. LOL.**

**The poll question for this week is...Are you happy Troyella are back together? I know it's a dumb question, but I couldn't think of any other question to ask in my poll. **

**Please review!**


	16. Date Night

**This chapter is dedicated to Vanessa, since I didn't get to post on her b-day. Vanessa, you're an awesome person! I hope you had a great birthday! **

* * *

"You look beautiful," Troy complimented, pulling Gabriella into a tight hug as she appeared at the bottom of the stairs. He unconsciously allowed his fingers to play with her curls, which she had left down, as he touched his lips to the top of her head.

A blush covered Gabriella's face. "Thanks," she timidly smiled, lying her head on Troy's chest.

"You don't have to be shy," Troy said. "You're my beautiful princess and I'm gonna keep calling you that for the rest of my life; you shouldn't think you don't deserve my compliments."

"Sorry; all this couple stuff is just all so new to me," Gabriella responded, giving Troy another hug.

"You're cute," Troy murmured as he placed a kiss on top of his girlfriend's head.

Gabriella blushed once more.

"So, you ready to go?" Troy inquired as he and Gabriella pulled away from one another and he studied her once more. She looked perfect, beautiful, amazing-every adjective of the sort described her appearance. She was wearing a pair of medium wash skinny jeans with silver flats and a black spaghetti strap top layered over a white scoop neck t-shirt-something that wasn't too fancy, but in Troy's eyes, it was incredible.

When Gabriella nodded, Troy took her fingers in his and led her out the door and to his dad's car, in which Jack was waiting to drive the two to the movie theater. Like a guy is usually expected to do on a date, he opened the car door for her, shut it once she was in, then got in himself. The ride was silent. When they arrived at the theater, Troy paid for both the movie tickets, bought himself and Gabriella a popcorn to share, then, together, they went to find good seats.

"This movie is so good," remarked Gabriella as she took a seat beside Troy and laid her cheek against his shoulder.

"I can't say I'll agree with that, but I promise I won't complain at all either during or after it," Troy said, wrapping his arm around his girlfriend's shoulders and lightly touching his lips to the top of her head.

Gabriella giggled and reached for a piece of popcorn.

"Hey, did you want anything to drink? While the previews play, I can quick go buy you something."

"No, you don't have to."

"You sure? I'm thinking about getting a soda for myself."

"Well, if you get that, I'll share it with you."

"Alright. I'll be right back, then." Troy rose from his seat and walked back into the lobby. Returning about five minutes later, he gently tossed a chocolate bar into Gabriella's lap.

"I didn't tell you to get this," Gabriella spoke, confused.

Troy smiled. "I know you didn't. I just got it." He sat back down and put the soda he had purchased in the cup holder that rested between his seat and Gabriella's.

"You're really sweet." Gabriella leaned over to kiss Troy on the cheek.

Troy kissed Gabriella's cheek in return. "You're pretty sweet, too."

Gabriella didn't have any time to respond, for as soon as Troy finished speaking, the previews ended and the movie began.

* * *

Troy and Gabriella walked out of the theater and into Troy's dad's car after _Troyella Forever_ was over. Troy had tolerated the movie and had somewhat enjoyed it more than the _High School Musical_ movies. It only had two songs in it, so that automatically made it better. And it had pretty much basketball.

"Thanks so much for taking me here tonight," said Gabriella as she and Troy rode home.

"No problem," Troy responded, wrapping his arm around his girlfriend's shoulders. After a pause, he asked, "What do you want to do when we get back to my house?"

Gabriella shrugged. "I don't know."

"How about we think of something? We could watch a movie-even though we just came from the movie theater-we could just sit and talk for a while, we could go on the computer, we could start putting up the Thanksgiving decorations my parents have been bugging me to help put up..." Troy groaned.

"Hey, if those decorations aren't up by the day before Thanksgiving, you're grounded," Jack told his son. "Your mom and I have a lot of grocery shopping to do, I have to rake all the leaves that are in the yard, your mom has to clean the house...we don't have time to decorate. That's your chore."

"I know," Troy spoke, suppressing an eye roll.

Gabriella giggled. "I like decorating. When we get back to your house, I'll help you with it."

"Thanks, but don't make it last longer than it has to."

"I might do that just to torture you, Wildcat."

"You're mean, Brie," Troy complained as his dad pulled into the driveway of the Bolton house.

Once the car was stopped, Gabriella jumped out of the car along with Troy, grabbed his hand, and began to run to the front door of the house, laughing the entire way.

"What's so funny?" inquired Troy.

"You."

"I am not trying to be funny, Brie! I hate decorating! It's not a lie!" Troy insisted.

"I'm gonna get you to like it," Gabriella promised, giving Troy her sweetest smile.

"If you keep giving me that cute face, I'm sure I will like it." Troy gently yanked his hand free from Gabriella's so that he could wrap his arms around her in a quick hug.

Gabriella blushed as she embraced her boyfriend in return. "You're embarrassing me, Wildcat," she groaned, hiding her face in his chest. "Please stop."

"No, I'm not gonna stop, princess." Troy kissed the top of Gabriella's head before releasing her and heading through the doorway. "Now, let's find these stupid decorations and get this decorating over with."

"The decorations are in the garage," Lucille, who, since she was sitting in the living room, had overheard what Troy had just said, spoke. "And make sure you get _all_ of them, not just the first two you see."

"How many are there?" Troy asked, almost afraid of the reply he was going to receive.

"Only one box and a scarecrow that goes in the front yard."

"Good. I was expecting you to say there were five boxes or something else crazy like that."

"Come on, Troy," urged Gabriella. "The sooner you get moving and stop standing here complaining, the sooner it'll be over with and you'll never have to decorate again...until Christmas."

"Oh, yeah, that reminds me; I should make you help your dad put up the outside lights this year," Lucille told her son.

"Thanks a lot, Brie. Now I'm stuck standing outside in the cold hanging stupid Christmas lights."

"I'll help you!" Gabriella offered.

"You'd better," Troy warned playfully, heading for the garage as he spoke. A couple moments after he disappeared into it, he walked back into the house holding a medium-sized cardboard box and a tall scarecrow attached to a pole that was meant to be stuck into the ground.

"I love this scarecrow!" exclaimed Gabriella.

"I guess it's kind of cool," Troy admitted.

"What stuff is in the box?"

"I have no idea; let's look." Troy put the things he was holding down and opened the box. Inside, there were a few ceramic turkeys, a plastic cornucopia, and several fake pumpkins and gourds. "Nothing that exciting. Well, to me, anyway."

"What? I like pumpkins," Gabriella said.

"They're fake."

"I don't care." Gabriella shrugged.

"Alright, well, let's start putting these things up," suggested Troy. "Some of the turkeys and the cornucopia can go on the coffee table in the living room and the rest of the turkeys can go in the middle of the dining room table. The pumpkins and gourds can be put wherever. And, of course, the scarecrow goes outside."

"Okay."

Troy and Gabriella worked together to put all the Thanksgiving decorations out as quickly as possible. When they were finished, they went upstairs, sat on Troy's bed, and cuddled close to one another.

"I had a really fun night," Gabriella remarked with a smile. "Thanks so much for taking me to see _Troyella Forever_ again."

"No problem," Troy responded, kissing his girlfriend on the cheek. "I wanted to do it."

"I think our relationship is starting off pretty good this time."

"Me, too." With another kiss, Troy tightly hugged Gabriella. Now that he had gotten back together with her _and_ taken her out on a date for the first time, everything seemed to be perfect.

* * *

**I know what you guys are thinking: this chapter's so short and boring! Why did it take so freaking long for it to be posted? Well, I had nonstop dance rehearsals for a while and then after everything was over, I was busy with Christmas stuff. So I know I'll get lots of crappy reviews for this, but please understand that my writing is more of something I do for fun when I have time. I'm trying to really improve with dance, so that's like my number one priority. I'm sorry I can't update a lot:(**

**So I'm hoping for at least 5 **_**kind**_** reviews so I can hit the 200 mark. You think you can do it? **

**I have no idea when I'll be posting the next chapter. Hopefully it won't take as long to come as this one did! Hope you all have a merry Christmas and a happy New Year! Check out my poll!**


	17. Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving day came. Although her mom had called her several times and asked her to come over, Gabriella had made the decision to stay at home with her dad for the day and go visit her mom for a couple hours the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The Boltons had invited Gabriella and her dad over for dinner, so at the moment, they were walking up to their door and ringing the doorbell.

"Hey, Brie." Troy smiled at his girlfriend as he swung his front door open. Greeting her with a tight embrace, he looked at David and politely said, "Hi, Mr. Montez."

"Hey, Troy," murmured Gabriella in response, clutching her boyfriend in return.

"Hi," David returned.

Just then, Jack and Lucille appeared in the living room. As Gabriella and David stepped inside the house, they greeted and informed them that dinner would be all ready in half an hour.

"Let's go up to my room," suggested Troy. Not giving his girlfriend any time to respond, he grabbed her hand and practically pulled her upstairs.

"Cuddles," murmured Gabriella as she kicked off her shoes, hopped onto Troy's bed, on which Troy had taken a seat already, and snuggled far into him.

Troy wrapped both his arms tightly around Gabriella. "You're cute," he remarked, placing a gentle kiss onto her cheek.

Gabriella gently laid her cheek on Troy's shoulder and returned his embrace. "Cuddling with you is always so comfy; I still haven't figured out why that is."

"Maybe because I'm your boyfriend?" suggested Troy.

A giggle escaped Gabriella's lips. "Probably," she agreed, her eyelids dropping shut as she began to feel extremely relaxed.

Taking one of his hands, Troy began to gently run his fingers through his girlfriend's curls. "So, princess, you wanna spend the night here tonight? You know you're always welcome."

"Of course," smiled Gabriella, leaning up to touch her lips to Troy's cheek. "But can we share your bed this time? Last time you slept downstairs so I couldn't snuggle with you while I was sleeping."

"Yeah; I'll share my bed with you. Last time I didn't because you said you wanted me to sleep downstairs." Troy playfully tapped Gabriella's nose as he spoke, causing her to giggle and blush. "Hey, why are you blushing, princess?"

Embarrassed, Gabriella buried her face in her boyfriend's shoulder.

_She's so cute,_ Troy thought to himself as he kissed the top of Gabriella's head. "So," he began, "What do you wanna do tonight? Do you want to stay up late, go to bed early, watch movies, talk..."

"Homework," replied Gabriella.

"What? Brie, please. I don't wanna do homework."

"But we have assignments for over this break; we _have_ to do them or we'll fail."

Troy sighed. "Fine; I guess I'll do homework with you."

"Great." Gabriella smiled.

"Oh, Brie, you know that Christmas dance the school is having the day after your birthday?" Troy began.

"Yeah."

Troy dug in the pocket of his jeans and pulled out two slightly crumpled tickets. "Well, I bought these tickets for it. Would you like to go with me?"

"I'd love to," murmured Gabriella. As she spoke, daydreams of dancing in Troy's arms while listening to slow, romantic music filled her head.

Without realizing what was happening, Troy slowly started to lean in, his lips becoming only an inch away from his girlfriend's.

"Troy! Gabriella! Dinner!" Jack called up the stairs, ruining the moment.

"Uh, okay...coming!" Troy shouted in response. Grabbing Gabriella's hand, he led her out of his room, down the stairs, and into the dining room, where he showed her where to sit, then took a seat beside her.

* * *

Two days later, Gabriella walked up to her mom's door with Troy and rang the doorbell. Since she hadn't wanted to go there alone, she'd asked Troy to go along. And because he would do pretty much anything for her, he had agreed. Of course Maria probably wouldn't be thrilled, but Gabriella just wanted to have someone she trusted with her in case her mom made her upset like she'd done the last time she had seen her.

"Hi, Gabby! Come on in!" Maria greeted. Glaring coldly at Troy, she muttered, "Oh, I see you brought your boyfriend with you without asking my permission."

"Mom, you've always liked Troy until I started dating him," Gabriella pointed out.

"Yeah, because boyfriends just aren't worth it. Look what happened with your father and I."

Walking inside with Troy right next to her, Gabriella ignored what Maria had just said.

"So, Samuel and I have already started getting the baby's room ready!" exclaimed Maria in excitement. "You have to see it. I'm so excited to be having another little girl! I just reached the five month mark, which meant that yesterday when I went for my ultra sound, the doctor could tell me the gender of the baby!"

"I thought you've only been pregnant for two months?"

"No, I just _told_ you two months ago. I knew back in August."

"You were cheating on Dad for that long?"

"Oh, don't mention your father," Maria told her daughter. "Come up and see the crib. We haven't painted or decorated the room yet because we started getting it ready before we knew we were having a girl. Oh, and since I was hoping it would be a girl from the beginning, I've been thinking of names, and Samuel and I have decided on Carolynn. Oh, it's going to be so wonderful having a little girl!"

"Um," Troy began nervously. "I'd hate to say this, but you do know that you have another daughter."

"Yeah, but she's going to be eighteen in a few years and besides, she doesn't even live with me. And she's Mr. Montez's daughter, too."

"Are you saying that you're going to replace me?" Gabriella inquired as tears of hurt sprung into her brown eyes. "Are you saying I'm not good enough? Well, I hate my little sister already."

"Hey!" called a loud voice. "Don't talk like that to my fiancé."

Gabriella and Troy both turned around to see Samuel, who had just walked through the front door. Astonished, Gabriella repeated, "Fiancé?"

"He proposed," Maria explained.

"What? H-How could you?"

"Well, how could you say you hate your little sister already?"

"Because she's totally replacing me! You don't have to replace everyone in your life, Mom! First you replaced Dad, now you're replacing me. And now suddenly you hate Troy-"

"I don't hate him! I'm just suspicious of him because he's your boyfriend now and I'm not as friendly with him as I was before," Maria protested.

"Well, I don't like it," Gabriella decided.

"Alright, well, come up and see the baby's room and let's all just drop this subject and forget about everything that happened during this visit so far."

"No, I can't just drop it!" insisted Gabriella, who was growing angrier by the second. "You don't understand! And you don't care! I've been having a hard enough time dealing with you and Dad getting divorced, and now you're trying to replace me just like you replaced him? Do you want to make me miserable? Well, if you're gonna do that, I'll just go home now and I won't talk to you for a _very_ long time. I'll tell Dad exactly what happened, too. I'll tell him that you don't seem to like me anymore, you're having a new daughter named Madelyn-"

"Carolynn!" Maria contradicted.

"Whatever! I don't really care what her name is! It's not like I'll ever see her or spend time with her. Aside from the fact I'm not coming to visit anymore, she's going to be fifteen freaking years younger than me. She'll be a little three year when I graduate high school and go to college! When I get married, she'll be nine, ten, eleven, somewhere around there."

"And she could be your flower girl."

"Mom, you're not listening. You're obsessed with this baby! I know it's exciting-"

"No, you don't! You don't know how I feel at _all!"_

"Yes, I do. You're horrible, mean, and nasty. Ever since you started hating Dad and left him, you've hated me as well just because I look a little like him; just because he's my father!" As hard as she tried, Gabriella couldn't hold back her tears any longer.

"Don't cry, Brie," Troy comforted, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend and softly kissing the top of her head. "Please...I don't want you to be sad."

After Troy calmed her down, Gabriella faced her mother again, her eyes red and leftover tears slowly trickling down her cheeks. "I-I'm leaving now," she announced in a trembling voice. "I hope your new daughter is everything you've ever wanted, because she's going to be the only one you're gonna get to spend time with."

"You don't understand, Gabriella. Your mom's been through a lot-" Samuel began, only to be cut off by Gabriella.

"Yeah, maybe she has, but that still isn't a reason for her to reject me like this."

"Calm down, princess. Let's just get out of here and go home," Troy said softly, taking Gabriella's hand and gently stroking it with his thumb.

Gabriella didn't bother to even look back as she left with Troy. She was done dealing with Maria. She was done feeling rejected. She was ready to forget about it and move on.

* * *

**Alright, I know this chapter was short and I know Gabriella fighting with her mom might have been a little too much, but something kind of big had to happen, I thought, to keep stuff interesting, and in my opinion, it'd better for Gabriella to have family problems than Troyella problems because, well, I want Troyella to stay together:)**

**Oh, and I'd just like to say that this is FLUFF. There will be a lot of Troyella hugs and kisses from now on:) So if you don't like Troyella fluff, well, that's what I'm gonna write. **

**Please review!**


	18. Gabriella's Birthday

**Hey, guys! Here's a new chapter (finally!) I apologize SO MUCH for the extremely long wait. I even was confused for a second on how to upload this it's been so long! But if you haven't read my profile yet, I've been having very stressful problems with my friend, so I'm just trying to get through that at the moment.**

* * *

On the evening of Gabriella's birthday, which fell on a Friday, Gabriella found herself sitting in her living room with Troy waiting for the doorbell to sound. She had invited over her friends so they could all hang out and Troy, of course, had insisted on arriving early because he just couldn't bear to wait to see his now fifteen-year-old girlfriend.

"So, Wildcat, are you gonna give me my present now?" asked Gabriella.

"No. I want everyone to be here when they see you open it," answered Troy as he wrapped his arm around Gabriella and kissed her cheek.

"Can you at least give me a little hint?" Gabriella begged, her chocolate eyes meeting Troy's blue ones.

"No, princess. You need to wait."

"Please, Troy? Please? I really want to know what you got for me."

"Well, I said you need to wait."

Just as Troy finished speaking, the doorbell rang. Rising from her seat, Gabriella went to open it. When she did, Sharpay, Ryan, and Kelsi walked in. "Hi," Gabriella greeted.

"Hey, I brought some CDs and my jazz shoes so I can show you this jazz dance I choreographed," Ryan began. "It has a lot of jazz squares in it and I can do them really fast and-"

"Shut up!" Sharpay stuck her hand in front of her brother's mouth. "No one cares about your dance that's pretty much nothing but jazz squares. Remember what your choreography teacher told you? You shouldn't do the same move over and over again! It gets old after the first five times." She withdrew her hand.

"She never said that! She said that you should repeat the same move a lot so it's like a pattern."

"No, she said that one move should be repeated with variations two to three times in the dance. I was in that class with you, Ryan. I know what she said. Now just be quiet about this for the rest of the night. This isn't your birthday; it's Gabriella's and I know she won't want to hear about all this."

"Yeah, Ryan, and if you do something stupid tonight, I'm breaking up with you," Kelsi threatened. "And I won't compose songs for you to use for all your jazz things anymore."

"But everyone loves jazz squares!" protested Ryan.

"Jazz squares actually aren't too impressive," Sharpay pointed out. "Now, moving on...Gabriella, here's a present I got for you." She handed her friend a gift wrapped in hot pink wrapping paper. "I hope you like it!"

"Thanks!" Gabriella responded. "I'll put it over on the dining room table and then when everyone else gets here, I'll open it."

"Yeah, I got you something, too," said Kelsi, holding out a small gift bag for Gabriella to take.

"Thank you!" smiled Gabriella.

"And my present for you was going to be my jazz dance, but since Sharpay said I wasn't allowed to do it, here." Taking a wallet from one of his pockets, Ryan pulled out a five dollar bill. "Get some candy or something with this."

"That was rude!" Sharpay remarked loudly as she lightly smacked Ryan's hand. "You should've put more thought into Gabriella's gift! I'm sure she doesn't want five dollars!"

"Like I said, my jazz dance was meant to be her present, but you refused to let me do it." Ryan glared at his sister.

"Calm down, guys. It's no big deal," interrupted Troy. "Now, Brie and I put out some chips and soda in the kitchen; why don't you go get some of those?"

"Okay," Ryan agreed.

When Ryan had disappeared into the kitchen and Sharpay and Kelsi had taken seats in the living room, the doorbell sounded again. This time, it was Taylor, Martha, and Jason.

"Hi," Gabriella said as she opened the door. "You can all come in."

Everyone walked inside and handed Gabriella presents, which she put on the dining room table with the others. Once that was done, they all sat down, Gabriella cuddling up in Troy's lap so that there would be enough seats for her guests.

Troy wrapped his arms tightly around his girlfriend and kissed her cheek. "How about you open my present now?" he suggested.

"Alright," Gabriella smiled.

Troy took one of his arms away from Gabriella and dug in his pocket. Pulling out a small box, he instructed Gabriella to close her eyes, then opened the lid and fastened a silver necklace with a locket dangling from it around her neck. "You can open your eyes now, princess."

Gabriella looked down at her gift and gently fingered the heart-shaped locket. After a moment, she opened it to reveal a photo of her and Troy. "I love it," she murmured, closing it and turning around so she could kiss Troy on the cheek. "Thank you so much, Wildcat."

"You're welcome, princess," Troy responded, tightly squeezing Gabriella and touching his lips to her forehead. "But that's not all I got you. Well, that's all I bought with my own money, but I have another surprise for you. My parents and I are going to New York City over Christmas vacation and they said I could bring you if I wanted. So, do you wanna come with me?"

"Of course I do! This is going to be amazing! I've never been to New York before! This is so wonderful, Wildcat!" Gabriella exclaimed.

"You're lucky, Gabby," Sharpay remarked. "I want to go to New York so bad. It seems like it would be so much fun to go shopping there and to see a Broadway show and-"

"Shut up, Sharpay," ordered Ryan. "You're being really annoying tonight."

"No, you are," Sharpay argued. "Now go back in the kitchen and get some more food before you make everyone go crazy."

"I don't have to," Ryan spoke. "And besides, Kelsi wants me to stay here with her." He put an arm around his girlfriend. "See? She'll be so disappointed if I ditch her for more snacks."

"Alright, guys; stop arguing!" Taylor said. "You don't have to fight over something stupid like this!"

"But Sharpay-" Ryan started.

"You guys both need to calm down! Okay? Don't talk to each other for a little while if you're not getting along right now," suggested Taylor.

"Um, I'm confused," Jason announced. "Why can't Sharpay and Ryan talk to each other?"

"They were fighting," Martha explained. "Didn't you notice that?"

"Not really."

Everyone groaned. Sometimes it got really irritating when Jason had no idea what was happening.

After a minute or two, Gabriella opened the rest of her gifts. Sharpay had gotten her some pink nail polish, Taylor had bought her a book she had been wanting to read for a while, and Martha and Jason had given her another book. Once Gabriella had thanked all her friends, everyone went into the kitchen to get some food.

"So, Sharpay, Taylor, Kelsi, Martha-do you want to go hang out in my room while I get the guys distracted with the Wii?" suggested Gabriella.

"Sounds great!" Sharpay agreed. The other girls soon echoed her response.

"You mean you're gonna leave your boyfriend?" Troy asked, pretending to be hurt, as he pulled Gabriella into a tight hug.

"Wildcat, you're spending the night," Gabriella reminded Troy as she kissed his cheek. "And besides, I'm with you all the time. I should be able to spend time with my girl friends, too."

"I guess," Troy sighed, releasing Gabriella.

"And besides, once you start playing on the Wii, you'll be too caught up in it to even think about me."

The girls all laughed at Gabriella's words.

"I guess I'll see you later then, princess?" Troy gently nuzzled his girlfriend's nose before placing a kiss there.

"I'm just gonna be upstairs!" Gabriella pointed out, smiling affectionately at Troy.

"I know, but I'll still miss you," said Troy. He then gave Gabriella one last squeeze before heading into the living room, Ryan and Jason following him.

* * *

As soon as all the girls were up in Gabriella's room, Sharpay asked, "So, did you and Troy kiss yet?"

"No, not yet, but we were really close to it," Gabriella replied.

"I'm sure you'll get to kiss him soon," Kelsi said. "With Ryan it took a couple months and he was terrified when he asked if I would be okay with us kissing, but it happened."

"I can't picture Ryan being terrified of anything," laughed Gabriella.

"Well, you aren't the one that has to live with him," Sharpay remarked.

"I haven't had my first kiss yet," Martha spoke. "But Jason seems to take forever with things, so it might be another year yet. It took him four months to learn when my birthday was."

"Jason doesn't really pay attention all the time," Taylor pointed out.

"I think we've all noticed that by now," said Sharpay.

Everyone laughed.

"So, did Troy take you out for your birthday?" questioned Kelsi.

"No, but his parents are letting me go on vacation with him, so that's all I need. I'm sure we'll do something special in New York. Maybe I can get him to take me to one of the stores there," smiled Gabriella.

"Would he really do that?" Sharpay wondered.

"Troy would do a lot for me," came Gabriella's simple reply.

* * *

After everyone had left, Troy and Gabriella got into their pajamas and settled down under the thick covers of Gabriella's bed. Gabriella's cheek was resting on Troy's chest and her eyes were half-shut while Troy unconsciously laced his fingers with hers and gently dropped a kiss onto her forehead. One arm was affectionately wrapped around her waist, keeping her close to him.

"Mmmm," Gabriella groaned, her eyelids closing all the way. "This is comfy."

Troy, who had just realized the position that the two of them were in, awkwardly pulled his hand away from Gabriella's and released his hold on her. It was so easy to get caught up in cuddling with a girl as sweet as her, but he couldn't let himself get to the point where he was smothering her so much that she felt uncomfortable. "I'm sorry," he apologized.

"Don't be," Gabriella spoke gently, raising her head to gaze into Troy's eyes. "I liked it...a lot." A dreamy smile appeared on her face as she thought about how safe she felt when she was in her boyfriend's arms.

Without thinking what he was doing, Troy bent his head down a little until his lips were only centimeters away from Gabriella's. Hesitating for a moment, he nervously ran his hand through his hair.

Gabriella's expression grew pleading and irresistible.

Closing his eyes, Troy leaned in a little more and cautiously brushed his lips ever so lightly across Gabriella's in a short, sweet kiss.

A blush crept across Gabriella's cheeks as the awkwardness of the moment began.

Troy looked away from Gabriella, pretending to be looking at what time the clock beside Gabriella's bed told that it was.

Eventually, Gabriella broke the silence. "Well, I'm not so sleepy anymore..."

"Yeah, me neither...um...was it okay? I know it wasn't much, but I just thought I should take it slow...I hope I didn't disappoint you..." Troy said hesitantly.

"No, you didn't," answered Gabriella honestly. "And I agree-we should take it slow and wait to go further until we can do this without it being awkward after we finish."

"Go...go further?" Troy stammered.

"Oh, no! Not that kind of going further...I was talking about...you know...making out."

"Oh, okay. Yeah, we should definitely get over the awkwardness before we try that," agreed Troy.

For a moment, nothing could be heard except the sound of the wind blowing outside. Then, Gabriella said, "Your kiss was really sweet. You didn't seem nervous at all and it felt good."

"I think it's good that we've never kissed anyone else before," Troy decided. "That means we get to figure it all out together. And believe me, I was more nervous than I've been in a long time."

"Troy, I trust you. I trust that you won't do anything I'm uncomfortable with or hurt me in any way. You were my best friend for years before we started dating and I know you're going to be nice to me. You don't have to feel nervous about anything."

"Thanks, Brie," Troy smiled, embracing Gabriella tightly and kissing the top of her head.

"Good night." Gabriella snuggled into Troy and again laid her head on his chest.

"Good night." Troy turned off the lamp that was beside the bed.

"Troy?" began Gabriella after a minute of silence.

"Yeah?" Troy responded.

"I'm glad you're my boyfriend."

"And I'm glad you're my girlfriend."

* * *

**So, they kissed! Yay! I know I'm going to get reviews complaining about how I wrote that part of the chapter, so hopefully you guys liked at least some of it. When Troyella are in New York, there's going to be a lot of hugs, cuddles, and kisses, so that'll be fun to write. I love fluff:) Oh, and is anyone having the issue with the inbox on here being messed up? It's really getting to be an annoying problem that I hope they fix soon. It's been going on for about a week now. I have no idea when the next chapter will be up, but hopefully it'll be in less than three months. But for now, bye!**


	19. Christmas Dance

On the evening of the Christmas dance, Troy walked up to Gabriella's door dressed up in a nice suit. In his hand, he held a corsage of a white rose. His hair was, for once, combed out of his face. Reaching up, he pressed the doorbell that he had pressed so many times in the past. However, this time it was different because he was taking Gabriella to a formal Christmas dance. He had, of course, taken her to homecoming, but this time it seemed like a bigger event. At homecoming, they had just begun to date and weren't acting much different than they were when they were just friends. Especially after their first kiss, things had just seemed to become so much more official.

The door opened, revealing Gabriella. "Hey, Troy," she greeted, a smile appearing on her glossed lips.

"Hey, Brie," Troy returned, stepping inside as he took in how beautiful his girlfriend looked. She was wearing a raspberry-colored dress that reached her knees. In her hair, which was left down to cascade over her shoulders, she wore a silky headband that matched the dress. It was more of a decoration than something to hold her hair out of her face, so a few dark curls fell into her chocolate eyes. Her shoes were black ballet flats, and around her neck was the necklace Troy had got her for her birthday. "You look beautiful," he complimented as he carefully pinned the corsage on her dress.

"Thank you," Gabriella smiled. "You look really handsome tonight, Wildcat." She wrapped her arms around her boyfriend's waist and cuddled against him for a moment.

Troy returned Gabriella's embrace. When they pulled away from each other, he leaned in to softly brush his lips against hers. "I couldn't help but kiss you," he explained.

Smiling, Gabriella hugged Troy again. "That's okay. I definitely don't mind being kissed by you."

"Alright, well, are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, just a minute. Let me go tell my dad." Gabriella walked upstairs, reappearing only a minute later. "Okay. We can leave now."

Grabbing Gabriella's hand, Troy led her out the door and into the car in which Jack was waiting to drive them to the school. "I can't wait until I get my drivers' license. Then we can go out the proper way-with me driving."

"And once you can drive, you're going to take me out for a midnight picnic, right?"

"If that's what you want, that's what you'll get, princess." Troy kissed his girlfriend's cheek.

* * *

Once they got into East High, Troy and Gabriella made their way to the gym, where the dance was being held. As Troy took Gabriella's hand, he looked into her sparkling eyes and smiled.

"Hey!" Sharpay called as she rushed over to meet her friends. "You're here! Gabriella, I need to talk to you." She grabbed her friend's arm and pulled her over to a corner, leaving Troy standing in the doorway to the gym with a bewildered expression on his face.

"You know that guy Zeke that I was telling you about the other day?" Sharpay began.

Gabriella nodded.

"Well, he's right over there by himself and I really want to go talk to him, but I feel like I should wait for him to ask me to dance or something. What do you think?"

"I don't know," Gabriella responded thoughtfully. "I've never had experience with meeting guys. Troy and I were best friends since we were little and then as we got older, we started liking each other as more than just friends."

"Well then, you really have experience with guys if you've known him for that long! Don't you have _any_ suggestions?"

"I guess go talk to him...I mean, I don't know what else to tell you..."

"Okay! Thanks, Gabriella!" Sharpay hurried off.

"I'm back," Gabriella said as she walked over to her boyfriend and gave him a tight hug.

"I see that," Troy acknowledged, smiling, while wrapping his arms tightly around Gabriella. "I have to admit that I really don't know what I'm doing, but would you like to dance with me?"

"Of course," smiled Gabriella. "And to make you feel better, I don't really know how to dance, either."

"We'll figure it out, I guess." Letting go of Gabriella, Troy took one of her hands and led her over to where several other couples were already dancing in the middle of the room.

"We never did figure this out at homecoming because of Chad," Gabriella recalled.

"Oh, yeah. I'm so glad that jerk is out of here now."

As Troy took both of Gabriella's hands and began to attempt dancing with her, a tall guy with medium brown hair and deep brown eyes appeared beside them. "Excuse me, but may I have the next dance with you?" he asked Gabriella.

"I'm sorry, but I already have a date for the night."

"Is this him?" the guy inquired, pointing to Troy.

Gabriella nodded.

"He looks a lot like Troy Bolton. That guy is awesome at basketball, especially for a freshman. I'm a sophomore and I wish I could play like he does. I didn't even make the team this year!"

"Actually, I am Troy," Troy told the teenager.

"And you are...?" the boy wondered, his gaze wandering back to Gabriella.

"Gabriella Montez," came Gabriella's reply.

"You're not a cheerleader, are you? And you're not popular, as far as I know, are you?"

"The answer is 'no' to both questions."

"Well, Troy was a smart guy to have chosen you to be his girlfriend rather than a cheerleader and he's also very lucky because you're gorgeous." He smiled at Gabriella.

"Okay, that's enough, uh...um...what's your name?"

"Daniel."

"Alright, well, Daniel, you're going a little too far. I know my Brie is gorgeous, and I'm just going to have to make you even more jealous of me by telling you that she's going to be in my arms this whole evening."

"Like I said before, you're a lucky guy." With those words, Daniel walked away.

"Why do you have to be beautiful?" Troy murmured softly as he pulled Gabriella close to him in a protective way and kissed her curls. "All the guys in the school are going to have a crush on you now."

"Well, I hear a lot of girls talking about how cute you are," Gabriella pointed out. "Why do you have to have those handsome blue eyes?"

"Yeah, good point. I guess we just can't control things like this."

"Hey! Look at me!"

Looking in the direction of the shouting, Troy and Gabriella saw Ryan in the middle of the floor doing kicks and jazz squares.

"I do not know him anymore," Kelsi announced as she approached Troy and Gabriella. "He's being too crazy right now."

"Hey, Kelsi," greeted Gabriella, pulling a little away from Troy and then leaning her head on his arm.

"Hey, Gabriella, hey, Troy," Kelsi responded.

"Yeah, yeah, that's it!" Ryan called as people began gathering around him clapping and cheering him on as he continued his dance with some slide steps and cartwheels.

"He's obviously gone crazy," Gabriella laughed. "I can't believe this is what he wanted to do on my birthday."

"Hey, Kels," Sharpay said as she approached everyone, Zeke right next to her and Martha and Jason following behind. "Troy, Gabriella, Kelsi, this is Zeke. He's calling me tomorrow to set up a time to go out!"

"Hi, I'm Troy," Troy introduced. "I've seen you in basketball practice before. Are you a freshman?"

"Yeah, I am. And I've seen you and your girlfriend around, too."

"She's Gabriella," Troy explained.

"And this is my brother's girlfriend Kelsi," said Sharpay. "Then there's Martha and Jason, who you've already met. Our other friend is Taylor, but I haven't seen her around yet tonight."

"It's great to meet all of you. I haven't really gotten to make any friends in this school yet." Zeke adjusted his tie. "So, where's your brother?"

"Ryan! Ryan! Ryan! Ryan! Ryan! Ryan!" the crowd that had come to watch Ryan dance shouted as they continued clapping louder than ever.

"Right...there in the middle of the big crowd..." Sharpay groaned as she covered her face in embarrassment. "Oh, why does he have to do this?"

"Oh, yeah! I'm awesome!" Ryan did a jazz turn and then began handstands.

"Do what?" Jason wondered.

"Is it too much trouble to pay attention to what's going on around you?" Martha shouted in her boyfriend's face. "There's a big crowd screaming Ryan's name and he's urging them on and dancing like he's crazy and you have to ask what's happening?"

"Yeah!" screamed Ryan as he removed the black and white hat he was wearing, bowed, and rushed over to the refreshments table to get a drink. Once he was finished, he walked over to where his friends were. "So, what did you think? Pretty cool, huh?"

"_Never_ do that _ever_ again," Sharpay begged.

"Yes, _please,_" Kelsi echoed, taking Ryan's arm and looking straight into his eyes. "If this happens again, I'm going to deny ever knowing you."

"Why? I'm awesome!" Ryan exclaimed.

"You're embarrassing," Sharpay disagreed.

"Hey, guys!" called out Taylor as she ran over to meet her friends. "Sorry I'm late."

"You missed my fantastic jazz performance!" Ryan burst out. "It was so cool! Everyone was standing around me clapping and calling my name. It was the most wonderful experience ever."

"Be glad you weren't here," Sharpay contradicted. "He embarrassed us all. Oh, and by the way, this is Zeke. Zeke, this is Taylor."

"Hi," said Zeke.

"Hey," Taylor returned.

"I'm hungry," announced Jason.

All the other guys agreed. After assuring their girlfriends that they would be back in only a few minutes, they wandered over to the refreshments.

"Well, at least Zeke's fitting in with the guys," Sharpay pointed out as she watched her new boyfriend walk away with Troy, Ryan, and Jason.

"Yeah," the other girls agreed.

"Guess what? Troy kissed me last week!" Gabriella exclaimed.

"Congratulations!" Sharpay squealed as she hugged her friend.

"What did you do to get him to do it?" Martha asked.

"What was it like?" Taylor wanted to know.

"Where was it?" inquired Kelsi.

"Okay, guys, calm down," Gabriella said. "I didn't really do anything. We were just lying in bed cuddling and all of a sudden he kissed me. It was a little awkward after it was over, but it was definitely the most amazing thing I've ever experienced."

"Wait, you were in bed with him?" Taylor checked.

"We have sleepovers," explained Gabriella. "But they're completely innocent. Nothing ever happens other than us cuddling with one another. We've been sleeping over at one another's houses since we were little and we just got into the habit of sharing a bed. I promise nothing personal happened and it won't happen for a while, either."

"You have the best boyfriend on earth," Martha remarked. "He cuddles with you _and _kisses you?"

"I know. He's great." Gabriella smiled.

"I wish I had a boyfriend," Taylor sighed.

Just then, the guys returned with half-eaten slices of pizza, chocolate chip cookies, and paper cups filled to an almost overflowing level with cold soda. "Hey, Brie, you want a bite?" Troy offered, holding out his plate for Gabriella to take.

"No, thanks, I'm not hungry," replied Gabriella.

"Are you sure?"

Gabriella nodded.

"So, are you excited to go to New York?" Martha inquired. "You're so lucky that you're going on vacation with your boyfriend already!"

"Well, it's not that huge. Troy and I have been best friends for so long, all this stuff already happened before we got together. But yeah, I'm excited." Gabriella smiled as she looked over at Troy.

"Are you going to be there on Christmas? If you are, you're so lucky!" exclaimed Sharpay.

"Yeah, we're going to be away for the whole two weeks we have off school."

"Are you going to see a Christmas show performed by Julliard?" Ryan wondered. "It's a performing arts school in New York."

"I don't think so," Troy answered. "Brie and I aren't really into dancing, singing, and acting like you are, though I have to admit that Brie definitely has an amazing voice."

"You should sing something for us all," Kelsi urged.

Looking down at the ground, Gabriella said, "No...I don't think so. I'm not that good and I'm not comfortable singing around a lot of people. Troy just said I was a good singer because he's my boyfriend."

"No, Brie, you're really great," Troy argued, setting his food down and going over to hug Gabriella.

"Well, I don't think I am," Gabriella disagreed. "But since I get hugs because you think I'm good, then I'll keep letting you believe that." She wrapped her arms around Troy's waist.

Gently cupping her chin in his hand, Troy turned Gabriella's face toward his, lovingly touched her cheek, and kissed her forehead.

"Aw!" all the girls exclaimed as they gave their boyfriends looks as if to let them know that they wanted the kind of affection that Troy showed to Gabriella.

"No," Ryan refused firmly. "I'm not doing what Troy's doing in a crowded room."

"Excuse me, Ryan, but you just made yourself look like a total idiot a little while ago by that stupid dance performance you did," Sharpay told her brother.

"I agree with Ryan," Jason announced.

"Maybe when we get to know each other a little more," Zeke said to Sharpay.

"Yes! He didn't refuse!" Sharpay shouted.

"Alright, everyone!" a girl in a deep blue dress decorated with a little bit of glitter called out. She appeared to be a senior and wore her reddish-brown hair up in a dressy bun. Her eyes were decorated with silver eye shadow and her nails were perfectly manicured. "We have a few announcements to make. I'd like to give an award to Ryan Evans for the best dancer of the evening."

"See?" Ryan burst out as he gave his sister and Kelsi a dirty look while confidently walking over to where the girl was standing.

Everyone in the room clapped and cheered.

"And the girl with the best dress of the evening is Carissa Boroughs."

The snobby blonde girl, who was wearing a long green dress that was coated in glitter went to the front of the room. She obviously wasn't surprised to have been voted the best dressed girl. When the applause began, she smiled and waved to her schoolmates.

"The best dressed guy is Brandon Himmerson."

A guy wearing an expensive-looking suit made his way to where Ryan and Carissa were standing. Again, everyone clapped.

"And this is surprising, but the cutest couple of the evening is Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez. They're only freshmen, but we've gotten so many comments on how they're just _adorable_ together."

Surprised, Troy and Gabriella went over and stood next to Ryan.

Everyone clapped.

"Congratulations to all of you," the girl speaking said. "We just need to get a few pictures of you for the yearbook and to hang up on the bulletin board after Christmas break is over."

A guy with a camera that appeared to be either a junior or a senior came over and quickly snapped a few pictures. Once he was done, the teenagers in the room clapped once more, then everyone that was standing up front went back into the crowd.

"I hate having my picture everywhere," Gabriella groaned.

"Why? You're beautiful." Troy kissed his girlfriend's cheek.

"Thanks," Gabriella smiled.

After a few minutes, a slow song was turned on. Troy took Gabriella's hand and asked, "Can I have this dance? I'm even worse at slow dancing than dancing to fast music, but..."

"I'd love to dance," Gabriella answered.

Troy pulled Gabriella close to him and tried his best to dance with her. By the end of the song, however, neither of them were moving their feet. They were just standing there, their arms wrapped tightly around one another. Gabriella's cheek was pressed against Troy's chest and her eyes were closed as she took in the feeling of Troy's warm embrace.

"Brie?" Troy murmured softly after a few minutes.

Gabriella brought her face up so she could gaze into Troy's eyes. "Yeah?"

Instead of responding with words, Troy leaned in and touched his lips to Gabriella's. "You know, princess, every day I like you more and more," he spoke in a gentle tone while beginning to stroke her dark curls.

"I like you, too, Wildcat," Gabriella returned.

* * *

**Okay, I know the end might have seemed a bit weird, but I just wanted to explain that I really wanted a sweet moment between Troyella and I didn't think it seemed right to have them say "I love you" to one another since 1) they only just turned 15 and 2) they just had their first kiss a week ago. I want to save the "I love you" for when they're more mature, like maybe in their junior or senior year of high school, so I just had them say "I like you" for now. I apologize if it sounded stupid. Oh, and I messed up a LOT. I just found out that a while back in the story, I wrote that dance was the day after Gabriella's birthday, but then somehow it turned into that it was a week after and it would be confusing to go through every chapter and fix a bunch of stuff to have it all make sense, so just to let you guys know how that got all messed up.**

**So, what did you think of the Christmas dance? Troyella were cute, weren't they? And they won cutest couple! That's a big surprise (just kidding!). Next chapter will be their trip to New York! I think I told you this before, but I'm so excited to write that because that chapter's going to be a nice long one full of lots of Troyella hugs and kisses:) I'm also hoping to get good ideas for dates they could go on in New York at their age. They're only fifteen, so don't say they should go to an expensive restaurant or anything like that, and also keep in mind that it's winter. Please tell me any suggestions you have! I don't live in and have never visited New York and last time I wrote a New York chapter, Troyella were adults and married, so it was a lot easier since they could do more mature dates like going somewhere expensive. Thanks a lot! **

**Oh, and I'm almost done school! That means MORE UPDATES! The next chapter will be chapter 20 FINALLY! It's been almost a year since I've started this story! Thanks to everyone that's stuck with it!**


	20. Christmas Vacation Part 1

**Okay, before I start this chapter, I'd just like to say one thing...I finally made it to chapter 20! Yay! And, more importantly, thanks to TwilightFan59 and Zac is my. Life for giving me ideas for Troyella's New York trip! I absolutely loved the ideas and I appreciate it so much because I was for some reason unable to think of many good ideas. This is going to be a long chapter, just to warn you, so anyway, here it goes...**

* * *

"This is so cool!" Gabriella exclaimed as she walked into the New York hotel suite with Troy and his parents. "It's so big and that huge window on the wall of the living room is awesome!" Dropping her bags, she rushed over to the window and gazed out of it. She could see taxis driving up and down the busy highway, skyscraper building, buses whizzing by, and people that looked like they were walking hurriedly home from work. New York was definitely a bustling city. "Troy, come look!"

In an instant, Troy was by Gabriella's side taking in the sight of what New York City looked like. "This already seems like a fun place to be for two weeks," he decided.

"Troy, Gabriella, do you want to see your room?" Lucille asked.

Troy and Gabriella both went over to the doorway Lucille was standing in. For a room in a suite, it definitely was pretty roomy. There was a double bed in the middle of the room, which had a floor covered with shaggy beige carpet. The walls were painted a sky blue color that complimented the medium blue bedding. On either side of the bed, there was an end table with two drawers. A counter with a mirror and a sink stood diagonally attached to the corner where two walls met.

"Wow, what does you and Dad's room look like, Mom? This is huge!" Troy said in surprise.

"You can look at it," Lucille told her son.

Troy and Gabriella hurried to see how Troy's parents' bedroom was. It was a little bigger than Troy and Gabriella's, but not too much. A TV stood in one corner, a double bed was in the center, a dresser was placed in another corner, and along one of the walls, there was a door, which led to a small bathroom. The carpet, walls, and bedding were identical to Troy and Gabriella's.

"This is so awesome!" Gabriella announced. "Is there another bathroom somewhere?"

"Yup, here it is." Jack answered Gabriella's question as he pointed to an open door along one of the living room walls.

The bathroom was just as impressive as the rest of the suite. There was a shower with doors rather than a curtain, a huge counter containing a deep sink, a toilet with a sky blue seat cover, a medium blue rug, and a towel rack with several crisp, clean white towels hanging from it.

"And then there's the kitchen," Jack said while walking to the door that was right beside the bathroom. The kitchen had a stove, and oven, a counter with four stools at it so it could be used as a table, a mini refrigerator, a small freezer, three cabinets, and a microwave.

"This suite is so big!" exclaimed Troy. "I can't believe we're actually staying here!"

"I know!" Gabriella agreed. "We're going to have a great time!"

"Are you guys hungry at all after the flight up here?" inquired Lucille as she entered the kitchen and quickly surveyed it.

"You know me, Mom, I'm always starving," Troy replied.

"Same here," Jack agreed.

"I'm not _that_ hungry, but if we would eat now, I would have something," Gabriella answered.

"Alright. Well, how about we get all unpacked and settled and then we go out to a restaurant since it's our first evening here. Tomorrow I'll try out this kitchen and make everyone breakfast before we go to Central Park." Lucille exited the room to begin getting her things organized. After a moment, everyone else followed.

Troy and Gabriella took their bags and walked into their bedroom. Each of them picked an end table to store their clothes in, then began to unpack. Because Troy just carelessly tossed his things into the drawers, he finished a good amount of time ahead of Gabriella. After a minute or two, he got bored of waiting, so he went over to her and wrapped his arms around her from behind. "Brie," he murmured, lying his head on top of hers. "We've been in New York for an entire forty-five minutes and I still haven't gotten a hug or a kiss from you."

"Well, were we really going to kiss in the taxi on our way here or when your parents were watching? That would've been awkward," Gabriella pointed out as she turned around. "And for hugs, I guess we were too busy running around the suite."

"Yeah, that's true. But what about now?"

"Of course." Smiling, Gabriella tossed her arms around her boyfriend then leaned in to briefly kiss him on the lips. She was thoroughly delighted by the fact he was asking for hugs and kisses rather than just waiting for her to give them to him. That showed he was very anxious to be affectionate with her and wanted to take advantage of every opportunity he could to hold her in his arms and kiss her. She had a feeling that they were going to do a lot of cuddling that night when they went to bed.

"Thanks, Brie," Troy said, touching his lips to Gabriella's forehead, then nuzzling his nose with hers.

Gabriella let out a quiet giggle.

"You're cute when you giggle, you know that?" Troy complimented, stroking his girlfriend's hair. He was getting more and more used to complimenting her like that.

"You're pretty cute, too, Wildcat," Gabriella said, looking straight into Troy's handsome blue eyes. "Now you'd better let me finish unpacking." With one last embrace, Gabriella turned her attention back to putting all her things in the drawers.

* * *

After dinner, Troy and Gabriella cuddled up next to one another on the living room sofa to watch _17 Again._ Yes, it was Gabriella's choice. Even though it hadn't been too terribly long since they started dating, Troy had already become extremely whipped. It seemed as if Gabriella were proud of her work, for every time Troy would sigh and give into what she wanted, she would just give him her sweetest smile and try to act like the most innocent girl on the face of the earth.

"Zac Efron sucks," Troy remarked as the movie began to play.

"Troy, we go through this every time we watch a Zac Efron movie. He does not suck. He looks so similar to you, so obviously he's cute to me, and he's a really good actor."

"Who's cuter, me or him?"

"You, of course," smiled Gabriella as she snuggled far into Troy's side and wrapped her arms around his waist. Looking up at him, she gave him her most pleading face.

"You want kisses?" guessed Troy.

When Gabriella nodded, Troy bent down and kissed her cheek, then her forehead, then her nose, and, finally, her sweet-tasting lips.

As soon as Troy finished spoiling Gabriella with kisses, Lucille walked into the room with a bowl of popcorn. Giving it to Troy and Gabriella, she said, "Here you go. I thought you might want a snack."

"Thanks," Troy and Gabriella both said.

"And I want a picture of you two. You guys are so cute together!"

"So the popcorn was a bribe? Mom..." Troy complained.

"Stop it, Troy. I want a picture before you two get to the age where you're not this innocent anymore."

"You're embarrassing me," Troy told his mom.

"Well, what I'm trying to get at is that your dad wants to talk to you in our room about stuff. You and Gabriella are now both 15-year-olds and you're going to be sharing a room for two weeks straight. I know you have sleepovers almost every weekend, but this is a long period of time for you to be sleeping in the same bed, so your father just wants to discuss some things with you."

Groaning, Troy reluctantly rose from the sofa and trudged into his parents' room.

"Sit on the bed," Jack instructed.

Reluctantly, Troy took a seat.

"Now I trust both you and Gabriella. You're both smart teenagers that I believe wouldn't suddenly try to do anything. However, after sleeping in the same bed in a room by yourselves night after night, you might start to feel that cuddling isn't enough anymore and you want to try something else. So I just wanted to remind you that your mother and I _will_ be right next door and believe me, we'll be able to hear everything that goes on if you try anything. And for rules, you and Gabriella will make sure to get changed in separate rooms and I expect you to wear something other than your boxers to sleep in. Every night, you'll be expected to be sleeping by eleven-thirty, so if either your mom or I hear anything past then, we'll come and see what's going on. And remember that even if you would do something without us finding out, there are still consequences. This is something special that you need to wait to do until you're ready. If you don't, you'll regret it for a long time. And again, it's not that I don't trust you and Gabriella, it's just that there might be temptation eventually and sometimes it's hard to resist."

"Okay, Dad." Troy was completely embarrassed. He hated talks like this.

"You can go back to Gabriella now. Just remember what we talked about," Jack said.

"Sure, Dad," Troy mumbled as he left the room. When he sat down beside his girlfriend again and wrapped his arms around her, Lucille insisted upon taking the picture she had been talking about before Jack had spoken to Troy, then left the two teenagers alone.

"We have to be sleeping by eleven-thirty every night," Troy told Gabriella. "My dad wants to make sure we aren't up all night because of reasons I'd rather not talk about."

Gabriella, knowing what Troy was referring to, just nodded in acknowledgement.

"So, are you enjoying the movie?" Troy asked, kissing Gabriella's hair.

With a nod, Gabriella cuddled further into Troy and laid her head on his shoulder. Reaching for some popcorn, she said, "What time are we going to Central Park tomorrow?"

"I don't know," replied Troy with a shrug. "I haven't asked my parents."

"That's okay," assured Gabriella, grabbing a kernel of popcorn and trying to toss it into Troy's mouth. However, it bounced off his nose and into his lap. Giggling, she grabbed it and put it in her mouth.

"Hey, Brie! I thought that piece was mine!"

"Too bad. I got to it first," Gabriella told her boyfriend with a smile. "You should've caught it when I threw it to you."

"I didn't even know you were going to throw it! Somehow this doesn't seem fair."

Gabriella leaned up to kiss Troy on the cheek. "Does that seem fair?" she queried.

"More than fair," Troy answered, pulling his girlfriend closer to him and resting his cheek on top of her head, which she had placed back on his shoulder.

* * *

The next morning, Troy opened his eyes to find himself in a strange room. _Where am I?_ he thought for a moment, feeling confused for a second as most people that just woke up in a different location than their bedroom do when they haven't quite woken up completely yet. _Oh right, we're in New York._ He looked down at Gabriella, who was nestled in his arms, still fast asleep. One of her arms was loosely draped over his stomach and her head was on his arm. That was slightly uncomfortable to Troy, as his arm had begun to fall asleep, but he didn't dare move an inch for fear of waking up his sleeping girlfriend.

Stirring, Gabriella lifted her arm up a little and nearly smacked Troy's face.

Troy gently took her hand and laced his fingers with hers to prevent her from accidentally hitting him.

"Mmmm," Gabriella groaned as her eyelids fluttered open.

"Hey, Brie." Troy greeted his girlfriend with a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey, Wildcat." Smiling, Gabriella reached up to push Troy's hair out of his face.

"Um, princess, I don't want to sound mean, but do you mind moving your head? My arm sort of fell asleep from you lying on it."

"Sure." Gabriella lifted her head and replaced it on Troy's chest.

Looking over at the clock that was resting on one of the end tables, Troy saw that it was seven-thirty, which perfectly explained why the smell of French toast and bacon was reaching his nose. "Do you want to go see if breakfast is almost ready?" he inquired.

"Okay," agreed Gabriella.

Climbing out of bed, Troy exclaimed, "Yes! We don't have to make the bed! This is so awesome!"

With a giggle, Gabriella gave Troy a quick hug before following him out the bedroom door and into the kitchen, where Lucille was busy making breakfast and Jack was sitting at the counter drinking a cup of coffee.

"Good morning, you two," greeted Lucille. "How'd you sleep last night?"

"Good," Troy and Gabriella both answered at the same time.

"I'm glad to hear that! Breakfast is almost ready. If you want to get some water to drink awhile, you can. I'm sorry we don't have anything besides coffee and water, but the mini fridge isn't big enough for everything, so I didn't buy too much stuff yesterday." After they had gone out to dinner, they had all stopped at a grocery store to pick up a few things to make meals with.

"That's okay," Gabriella said.

"Could I go down to that vending machine in the lobby and pick up some soda?" Troy requested.

"Troy, it's not even eight o'clock in the morning yet," Jack pointed out. "No. Just drink water for now. Maybe for dinner you can get some soda."

"Aw, come on, Dad!" Troy complained. "I have soda with breakfast all the time!"

"When?"

"When I'm up eating breakfast before school and you and Mom are still either sleeping or upstairs getting ready for work," Troy replied, reluctantly grabbing a plastic cup and filling it with cold water.

"Troy Alexander Bolton!" Lucille exclaimed. "You know better than that! Just because we're not watching you doesn't mean you can do whatever you want! You're fifteen years old now! You're almost an adult now and we need to be able to trust that you'll follow the rules when you're not being supervised like a baby."

"I didn't do anything _that_ bad. And anyway, I need the caffeine to get through the school day."

"Then drink coffee," Jack suggested.

Troy made a face. "Ew, that stuff smells disgusting! I would never drink it!"

"Troy, stop it!" Lucille ordered. "Gabriella's drinking water without any kind of complaint. I don't understand why you have to make this into a big problem."

"Okay, Mom," Troy mumbled, going over to sit beside Gabriella, who had taken a seat after she had gotten a cup of water.

In a few minutes, breakfast was ready. After eating, Gabriella went in the bathroom to take a shower while Troy sat in the living room with Jack and watched some of a rerun of a basketball game that had been played the previous night. When Gabriella was done, it was Troy's turn to use the bathroom. Once he was finished, he went into his and Gabriella's room to see Gabriella applying some eye shadow to her eyelids.

"You don't need to get all dressed up like that," Troy remarked, noticing his girlfriend's outfit. She had on dark boot cut jeans, a light green top with a little bit of ruffle at the collar and sleeves, a white beaded bracelet, and dressy brown shoes. In addition to all that, she had just finished putting on dark brown sparkly eye shadow and a light coat of blush already was on her cheeks. Currently, she was putting a little mascara on her eyelashes, which already looked full and beautiful.

As she finished with the mascara, Gabriella looked over her shoulder and smiled at Troy. "I just feel like it. We're in New York where a lot of people seem to have nice clothes and stuff. After passing all those clothing stores and seeing girls walking around in high heels yesterday when we were coming to the hotel, it just made me want to try being a little dressy." She grabbed her tinted lip gloss and carefully put some of it on her lips.

"I'm sure you'll also want to try manicures and everything else during the time we're here," Troy, who was only wearing a t-shirt and jeans, said.

"Well, I want to spend most of my time with you, but if you ever want to go play basketball with your dad or something, I'll go do something like that."

"It's always good to hear that you like me more than all that girly stuff girls like to do." Troy commented, walking up to Gabriella and wrapping his arms tightly around her waist. "You're such a good girlfriend to me." He kissed the top of her head.

Gabriella raised her face to look her boyfriend in the eye. "Well, you are great. How could I _not_ want to spend time with you?"

"You have pretty eyes," Troy told Gabriella, changing the subject.

"Thank you. I love your handsome eyes, too."

"So, this summer my parents are thinking of taking a trip to Hawaii for a week. Would you want to come on that? I'm sure you'd be allowed."

"Of course I would want to go! So far, I'm having a lot of fun on this vacation and being with you is something I really enjoy. I don't think I could not see you for an entire week and be okay with it."

"Yeah, I would miss you a lot, too, if I couldn't see you for that long."

Gabriella kissed Troy on the cheek.

Just then, Lucille appeared in the doorway of the room. "Are you two ready? I thought we would get going now."

"Yeah, we're ready," Troy and Gabriella replied simultaneously.

"That's the second time today we did that," Gabriella pointed out with a giggle.

"Oh, yeah, you're right." Troy laughed. "It's funny how that worked out."

Grabbing their coats, Troy and Gabriella put them on, then rushed out of their room, excited to get going. New York was such an interesting place to them, as they hadn't gotten the chance to be in a city like it yet. And, to make it even better, they were spending all their time together.

* * *

The taxi pulled up to Central Park. After Jack paid the driver, Troy, his parents, and Gabriella walked into the park. Not too far from where they stood, they saw the area where the Victorian winter wonderland, something the park had every December, was.

"We should go see what that is, Troy," Gabriella said.

Troy groaned. "It's something that's going to be so boring to me. Let's stay away from it."

"But it looks so cool!" Gabriella protested. She looked into Troy's eyes. "Please?"

"Oh, alright," Troy finally agreed.

"We're going to look at Balcony Bridge," Lucille announced. "You two can hang out wherever you want at the park as long as you meet us right back here-where we are now-at five o' clock. There's a bunch of concession stands around here if you want to buy something to eat or drink at lunchtime. Troy, you have your cell phone, right?"

"It's in my pocket," Troy confirmed.

"Here's fifteen dollars." Jack handed some money to his son.

"Thanks, Dad."

"Come on, Wildcat! Let's go to the winter wonderland!" exclaimed Gabriella, grabbing her boyfriend's hand and pulling him along with her, as she assumed he would move too slow if she let him walk on his own.

The winter wonderland was beautiful. Because it was cloudy out, the lights hung on the fence that was surrounding the area could be seen fairly clearly. They reflected onto the thin dusting of snow that lay on the cold grass, turning it red, green, pink, and yellow. A building with a wreath on the door stood in the midst of all the brilliance. Some lights hung from the roof and around the windows. Walking through the opening in the fence, Troy and Gabriella walked inside the building. They found themselves met with lots of activity. Little kids were running around, their parents calling for them to come back, couples were cuddling up on benches decorated with red bows, and about twenty people were thoroughly engrossed in the Snow dance from the Nutcracker, which was being performed on the platform at the far end of the room.

"What do you want to do in here?" Troy asked.

"Let's walk around and see if we can find something," suggested Gabriella, lacing her fingers with Troy's.

After wandering around for about a minute, Gabriella exclaimed, "Look! There's an ornament display!"

Troy let out a groan. Gabriella knew he absolutely loathed decorating. Why was she dragging him to look at decorations? Looking was the second worst thing than actually having to put stuff out.

Gabriella giggled. "Stop complaining, Troy. You can pick the next activity we do after we get out of the winter wonderland."

"Thanks, Brie," said Troy, sounding genuinely grateful as he gave his girlfriend's hand an affectionate squeeze.

"Oh, look! They're all handmade!" Gabriella examined a glass ball ornament decorated with red and green paint and glitter. Inside, was a miniature light, which made the whole ball glow the colors it was painted. "This looks so nice! I wish I could make something like this. And then these ornaments with all the Christmas ribbons are great, too!"

Troy mumbled a pretended agreement.

"I can't believe Christmas is on Friday already!" Gabriella continued. "I can't wait until I get to give you your Christmas present!"

At the mention of his gift, Troy's attention was instantly captured. "What did you get me?" he asked.

"I can't tell you," Gabriella answered, a playful smile appearing on her lips.

"Aw, come on," protested Troy. However, as he caught sight of a table where hot chocolate and cookies were being sold, his attitude transformed. "Brie, look! There's hot chocolate and cookies! Do you want to get some to share?"

"What about lunch? You don't want to use up all your money on desserts."

"That's why we would share," Troy said.

"Oh, okay. Well, sure, then. I'll have some if you buy it."

Troy led Gabriella over to where the hot chocolate table was. Upon seeing a sign that said a cup of hot chocolate and a plate of cookies were only three dollars, he pulled a five dollar bill from the pocket of his jeans. "Could we have one?" he requested, handing the lady at the table his money.

"Sure," the lady replied. She gave Troy his change, then poured a boiling cup of hot chocolate, added in a handful of marshmallows, and grabbed a small bag of cookies. "Here you go." She handed the things to Troy. "Thanks!"

Troy let go of Gabriella's hand so he could hold everything without dropping it. "Do you want to go find somewhere to sit?"

Gabriella nodded.

Troy and Gabriella quickly found a bench, then sat and took turns sipping the hot chocolate as they ate the small sugar cookies. The steaming beverage tasted delicious and sweet and the cookies were soft, warm, and fresh.

"Now do you like the winter wonderland?" inquired Gabriella, resting her head on Troy's shoulder and taking his hand in hers after they had finished their small snack.

"Only the food," Troy replied, lying his head on top of Gabriella's and wrapping one of his arms around her. "The rest is pretty boring."

"Well, do you want to pick something to do now?" Gabriella wondered. "Because I'll go do something else if you want to."

"Sure. Let's just walk around and see if we can find anything that would be interesting to me in this park." Still holding Gabriella's hand, Troy rose from his spot. "You ready?"

Nodding, Gabriella got up, too, then the two teenagers exited the building and began to wander around Central Park in search of a fun activity to do.

After about fifteen minutes, snow began to gently fall as Troy and Gabriella continued to walk around holding one another's hands. As they realized what was happening, bright smiles appeared on their faces.

"This is beautiful," Gabriella remarked, gazing over at Troy.

"You're beautiful," Troy spoke gently, abruptly stopping and bringing up the hand that wasn't holding Gabriella's to softly stroke her cheek. "And I'm so glad you came on this vacation with me."

"I'm glad I came, too," murmured Gabriella, leaning in for a short, sweet kiss, which Troy eagerly returned.

* * *

Later that day, Troy and Gabriella found themselves sitting in the snowy grass munching on cheeseburgers and potato chips. They never did come across anything interesting to Troy, so up until this point, they had just been enjoying a romantic walk in the falling snow. Eventually, Troy had gotten hungry, so they had decided to find somewhere to buy food.

"This is really good," Gabriella remarked. "New York food is definitely one of the best types of food I've ever tasted, even though I don't understand how it can be any different from what we have back in new Mexico."

"I know, it is good," agreed Troy while chewing. As he finished speaking, he swept the back of his hand over his mouth despite the fact that a napkin was right next to him on top of the bag the cheeseburgers had come in.

"Troy! You have a napkin for a reason!" scolded Gabriella.

"What?" Troy appeared to be shocked. "Brie, you sound like my parents!" He pulled her close to him and kissed the top of her head.

Gabriella let out a giggle. "And you find that amusing?" She looked up at her boyfriend, her eyes scintillating playfully as they met with his.

"Yup, it's very amusing," confirmed Troy, grabbing a chip and shoving it into his mouth. "Because I'm a guy, what can you expect? All guys eat this way! We only really use napkins at formal events where we would make ourselves look like idiots if we used our hands! Don't you ever see Jason, Zeke, and Ryan? They never use napkins, either."

"Of course I've seen them all," Gabriella answered. "And I've also heard Martha, Sharpay, and Kelsi telling them that they should be using them."

"Well, we're guys." Troy shrugged. "None of you girls should expect us to listen that easily."

Laughing, Gabriella laid her cheek on Troy's shoulder. After a pause, she asked, "What do you want to do now?"

"I don't know." Pulling his cell phone from his pocket, Troy announced, "It's one-thirty. We have about three hours before we have to start finding the place we started at to meet my parents. That might take a while because I'm sure we'll get lost on the way. This place is seriously huge."

"I know. I don't know how anyone could ever learn where everything is in here. It's like a whole city of grass and ponds."

"Yeah. So what do you want to do? I haven't really thought of anything."

"Kissing is always fun," Gabriella remarked, lifting her head to look at Troy.

Leaning over, Troy brushed his lips across Gabriella's. "Yeah, that is definitely a lot of fun," he agreed. "But only with you. I wouldn't want to kiss any other girl like that."

"I'm glad to hear that." Gabriella smiled.

* * *

That evening after everyone arrived back at the suite, Lucille made chicken and mashed potatoes for dinner. Once the meal was finished, Troy and Gabriella decided to sit on their bed, cuddle, and talk about whatever they felt like.

"Do you think we'll be able to sleep in tomorrow?" inquired Gabriella. "Today was such a busy day and all I feel like doing is lying under the covers snuggling up to you."

"I hope so. I would like some extra time to snuggle. I know some guys don't like doing stuff like that, but to tell you the truth, it's one of my favorite things that we do together."

"Yeah, it's one of my favorites, too."

"Hey, Brie, at midnight on New Years' Day do I get to give you a kiss?" Troy wondered.

"Of course," Gabriella replied with a smile. "It'll be so cool to finally have someone to kiss when the new year officially starts. I mean, I wasn't desperate before, but I just think it would be cool to be able to have a kiss at midnight."

"I like kissing you anytime, though," Troy commented, leaning over to touch his lips to Gabriella's cheek.

Smiling, Gabriella kissed Troy on the cheek in return. "I'm so glad we're together now. Being your best friend was great, but being your girlfriend is even better."

"Why, because you have me so whipped I get stuck with boring Zac Efron movies no matter how much I complain?" Troy gave Gabriella a playful nudge.

"Well, it is fun to annoy you in that way," Gabriella admitted with a giggle. "But the real reason I love being your girlfriend is because it just gives me a feeling that I have someone that I can go out with and kiss and cuddle up to all the time."

Troy pulled Gabriella onto his lap and gently began to stroke her soft curls. "I'm glad we're more than just friends because I finally get to tell you how beautiful I think you are as often as I like. Before we were together, I didn't want to say anything because I thought it would be too weird to be complimenting you like that."

"Yeah. I was afraid to tell you how handsome I thought your eyes were until after we started dating each other." Letting out a sleepy sigh, Gabriella leaned back against Troy and closed her eyes.

"You tired?" Troy asked, kissing his girlfriend's forehead.

"M-hm," murmured Gabriella, smiling as she felt Troy's lips touch her skin.

Troy wrapped his arms around Gabriella. "How about you go in the bathroom, brush your teeth and change, and then go ahead and climb into bed while I get ready?" he suggested.

"Okay," Gabriella agreed, half-reluctantly sliding out of Troy's embrace and, grabbing her pajamas, heading out of the room.

In about five minutes, Gabriella returned and got under the covers of the bed while she waited for Troy to join her. Once he did, she cuddled up to him and hugged him tightly. "Good night, Wildcat," she said in a sleepy voice.

"Good night, princess," Troy returned. "Do you want a kiss before you fall asleep?"

Gabriella nodded.

After sharing a brief, but sweet kiss, Troy turned out the light that was beside him and the two teenagers closed their eyes and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Troy and Gabriella slept until nine o' clock. After talking and cuddling for about half an hour, they both got out of bed and walked into the living room to look out the window. The ground was covered in fluffy white snow.

"We should go outside after breakfast," Troy said. "We could have a snowball fight or something."

"That sounds like fun," Gabriella responded.

"So you two are finally awake?" Lucille spoke as she came out of the kitchen with a cup of coffee in her hand.

"Yeah, did we miss breakfast?" Troy inquired anxiously.

"No. I didn't make anything specific. Your father and I just had some cereal. I thought we'd just take it easy today," Lucille explained. "For lunch, we were thinking of going out to eat and for dinner, I was just going to let us all make our own sandwich. When we're done with lunch, we can go to the grocery store and get some lunch meats and cheese for that."

"Okay. Brie, you wanna go get something?" asked Troy, turning toward his girlfriend and taking her hand.

"Sure," Gabriella answered, smiling as she briefly laid her cheek on Troy's shoulder before walking alongside him into the kitchen, her hand still held in his.

"Good morning," Jack, who was rinsing out his coffee cup in the sink, greeted. "You two slept late."

"Yeah, we were really tired after yesterday," Troy explained. "Do you and Mom have anything planned for today? She said something about going out to lunch, but she didn't say anything else."

"Well, I thought you and I could go to the gym downstairs and shoot some hoops and your mom has been telling me she wants to go to a nail salon, so Gabriella can either go with her or come with us and watch our game."

"What do you want to do, princess?" Troy asked as he grabbed a bowl and poured some frosted flakes into it.

"I'll probably go with your mom," replied Gabriella. "I promised Sharpay I would get her something from here since she wanted to come to New York so bad, so I was thinking I could grab her a bottle of hot pink nail polish. They usually sell some nail polish at salons. I don't know why, because then people can do it themselves rather than paying the manicure lady to do it."

"Girl stores like that make no sense to me," Troy remarked.

Gabriella laughed.

"Will we have time after breakfast to go out and have a snowball fight?" inquired Troy, looking at his father.

"Sure, go for it," Jack responded. "I wasn't planning on going down to the gym until after lunch anyway."

"Yes!" Troy exclaimed enthusiastically.

Troy and Gabriella hurriedly ate their breakfasts, then put on their coats and shoes and headed outside, not caring that they were still in pajamas.

"I'm gonna get you, Brie!" shouted Troy as he made a large snowball and tossed it at Gabriella, who, laughing, created a snowball of her own and threw it at her boyfriend.

"So you think you can beat me?" Troy asked playfully while he made another snowball and threw it at Gabriella. "I'm sorry, princess, but I think that's a bit impossible."

"I don't think so, Wildcat." Gabriella lay down in the snow and began rolling down the small hill she and Troy were on. "Because now _I'm_ in a safe spot."

"Not really. It gives me an advantage because I can easily throw all the snowballs I want at you while you're downhill, but you throwing them uphill is going to be challenging."

"Oh, right," Gabriella realized, coming back up the hill. "I guess I wasn't thinking." Grabbing snow, she threw it right in Troy's face.

"That's cold!" Troy exclaimed, making another snowball and tossing it at Gabriella.

"Of course it's cold; it's snow!"

After throwing snowballs for a few more minutes, Troy and Gabriella, who were by this time wet and shivering, headed back inside and into the hotel cafe, where Troy used the two dollars he had found in his coat pocket to buy two hot chocolates for Gabriella and himself. Once they had their steaming drinks, they made their way back to their hotel room. Going into their bedroom, Gabriella snatched the blanket from the bed and brought it into the living room. There, she sat down on the sofa with Troy, the blanket wrapped snugly around them.

"That was fun," Gabriella remarked as she took a sip of her hot chocolate.

"Yeah," Troy agreed. "But when you said you were going downhill, I should've kept my mouth shut. Then you wouldn't have realized it was a mistake until later and I could've gotten some good throws in."

"Would you really have done that?"

Troy shook his head. "No, I don't think I could've done anything like that to you."

Gabriella laid her head on Troy's shoulder and cuddled into his side. Letting out a soft sigh, she closed her eyes.

"Brie? Are you falling asleep?" Troy inquired gently as he set his now empty hot chocolate cup down on the floor beside him, then carefully took Gabriella's out of her hand and put it beside his.

"Hm?" Gabriella lifted her head, her sleepy eyelids half open. "Yeah, yeah, I'm still awake. I'm just tired. I don't know why, though, I definitely slept enough last night."

"You're probably just needing sleep after all the nights you didn't get enough. Don't you stay up until midnight studying a lot?"

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah, but what else can I do? I'm in honors classes and some of them are really advanced for my age and grade, and I really don't want to fail."

"Well, just take it easy during this vacation. Have fun, catch up on all your sleep, and take a break from all school work." Troy kissed Gabriella's nose. "Okay, Brie?"

"Okay."

Troy smiled. "Did you want to go take a shower and get ready now? It's probably almost time to go to lunch."

"Sure. I'll try not to be long." Rising from her seat, Gabriella stretched, then grabbed the outfit she wanted to wear out of her and Troy's room and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

As Troy waited for Gabriella to be done, he put the blanket that he was still covered in back on the bed, then picked up his phone and turned it on to discover that there were multiple missed texts and calls. A text and a call from Zeke, a call from Sharpay, three texts from Sharpay, a text from Kelsi, a call from Jason, seven texts from Ryan, a call from Taylor, and a text from Martha. Clicking to view all his texts, he began to read them.

_Yesterday, 10:00 a.m._

_To: Troy Bolton_

_From: Zeke Baylor_

_Hey, dude! How's NY? _

_Yesterday, 10:03 a.m._

_To: Troy Bolton_

_From: Sharpay Evans:)_

_Troy, wat hv u done w/ Gabriella? Ive texted and called her but she hasnt replied:(_

_1:45 p.m._

_Havin fun? Tell Gabby 2 reply 2 me!_

_11:00 p.m._

_Troy! Wat r u 2 up 2? I'm dyin to kno what ur doing in NY! Plz reply ASAP...either u or Gabriella!_

_Yesterday, 1:41 p.m._

_To: Troy Bolton_

_From: Kelsi Nielson_

_Hey, wats up? Havin fun so far?_

_Yesterday, 2:05 p.m._

_To: Troy Bolton_

_From: Ryan Evans_

_Hey, I choreographed somethin new! Wish u and Gabriella could see it!_

_2:31 p.m._

_I'm gonna send it in a video 2 u._

_2:45 p.m._

_It's not working._

_3:01 p.m._

_I just send Gabby a bunch of texts...y arent u guys gettin back to me?_

_3:39 p.m._

_Dude, come on! Did u see Julliard yet?_

_3:54 p.m._

_Yo, where r u? Julliard is having a jazz performance Christmas Eve. u must see it!_

_4:50 p.m._

_Did u get my messages? Hello? Do u have access to a computer so I can e-mail you a vid of my dance?_

_Yesterday, 9:45 p.m._

_To: Troy Bolton_

_From: Martha Cox_

_I just wanted to see wat was up with u and Gabby!_

Troy responded to all his friends and then listened to the voicemails they had left. Deciding to call the back later, he put his phone back with his things and walked out of the bedroom. Seeing Gabriella coming out of the bathroom, he said, "Brie, Sharpay's desperate to talk to you. She sent me three texts asking me what happened to us and saying she wants you to call or text her as soon as possible."

"Okay," Gabriella responded.

"And Ryan sent seven texts telling me about the new dance he choreographed and he was bugging me to go too the Julliard jazz dance show, which I really have no interest in."

Gabriella laughed. "He was bugging us about that before we left and we already told him we most likely weren't going to see it, but you know how he is, so I guess he's just not getting the message."

"Yeah. Well, I'm going to take a shower now. You'd better get in touch with Sharpay before she starts panicking and thinking I did something with you again."

"Okay. I'll call her."

Troy pulled Gabriella into a quick hug before entering the bathroom and shutting the door.

After quickly combing through her wet hair, Gabriella grabbed her cell phone and dialed her friend's number. "Hey, Sharpay," she greeted as Sharpay answered after the first ring.

"Finally!" exclaimed Sharpay. "I thought I was never going to hear from you! What have you and Troy been doing since you got to New York?"

"Well, we went to Central Park yesterday. That was definitely a lot of fun. I forced him to look at all the ornaments in the winter wonderland area." Gabriella giggled. "He didn't enjoy that too much. And then he saw the cookies and hot chocolate and immediately changed his mind about hating the whole thing."

Sharpay laughed. "Yeah, that's typical of guys. I won't be surprised if he comes home crazy because you made him do all this stuff he thought was boring."

"Today he's playing basketball with his dad and I'm going to the nail salon with his mom. I'm going to pick you up a bottle of hot pink nail polish there since I know you wanted to come here so bad. That's the color you would want, right?" Gabriella checked.

"You got it right," replied Sharpay. "And thanks for doing that for me. Has Ryan been annoying you and Troy with that Julliard performance?"

"He's been texting Troy nonstop about it and I just found several texts from him on my phone when I turned it on to call you. I haven't looked at them yet, but I'm assuming it all has to do with the jazz show Julliard is putting on for Christmas."

Sharpay let out an irritated groan. "I told him not to do that to you! Oh, why can't I just have a normal brother?"

Laughing, Gabriella said, "I don't know, but I guess you're stuck with him now."

"Unfortunately you're right." A brief pause followed those words. "So, are you and Troy gonna go to Times Square for that big New Years' Eve party they have every year? Oh my gosh, I would absolutely do _anything_ to go there!" Sharpay squealed. "If you guys go, I might see you on TV, oh my gosh, that would be the most awesome thing! Please tell me you're going!"

"I don't think so," Gabriella responded. "It would be too crazy there. I'm pretty sure me, Troy, and Troy's parents are going to just go out to dinner, rent some movies, and spend the night watching them in our hotel room. But Troy did promise I was gonna get a kiss at midnight."

"You're so lucky!" Sharpay squealed again. "Troy is just the sweetest guy! You're so lucky to have him, but then again, I'm lucky to have Zeke, too. Do you know that he likes baking? He made me a huge basket of homemade chocolate chip cookies! They were so good! And he's taking me out the day before Christmas Eve."

"He bakes? That's pretty cool."

"Yeah, it is. You _have_ to try his cookies sometime after you get back. They're the best thing I've ever tasted!"

"I'll definitely try them if they're as good as you say they are."

Just then, Troy walked into the room.

"I have to go," Gabriella told her friend. "Troy just got out of the shower, so that means we're going to be leaving to go out to lunch in like half an hour and I still have to do my hair and make-up."

"Alright." Sharpay sounded disappointed.

"Call me after your date and let me know how things went, okay? And say 'hi' to everyone for me and tell them I'll call or text them as soon as I get the chance, which will probably be tonight."

"Okay, I will. Bye."

"Bye." Gabriella hung up her phone and placed it on the end table.

"Did you and Sharpay talk about anything interesting?" Troy wondered.

"Boyfriends." Gabriella laughed. "I was telling her about how I made you go to the winter wonderland and that your attitude about it changed as soon as you saw the food."

"Brie, I'm a guy! I like food, okay? I seriously don't see why you find this so amusing!"

"It's just funny," said Gabriella, standing up and taking her lip gloss from the end table. Looking in the mirror, she put some of the gloss on her lips.

"I'll never understand you, Brie," Troy remarked as he put on his sneakers. "All I understand right now is that I want lunch, so hopefully you and Mom won't take too long to get ready."

"See? There you go with food again!" Gabriella pointed out, turning around to look at Troy, who was about to exit the room.

"Hey, if you say one more thing about me liking to eat, I'll throw a snowball at you when we get outside."

"Not if I throw one at you first."

Walking over to Gabriella, Troy hugged her from behind and kissed the top of her head. Lifting her off the ground, he spun her around in circles.

"Troy, put me down!" Gabriella ordered as she laughed.

"I don't think so." Troy lightly pushed Gabriella onto the bed, where he took a seat beside her and pulled her onto his lap.

"Troy! I have to finish getting ready!"

"You have to give me a hug first."

Gabriella wrapped her arms around Troy and snuggled against his chest. She smiled as she felt his fingers gently stroke her dark hair, which was still damp. "Do you really think I'll be disappointed if I have to hug you?"

"No, but I just felt like making you do it." Kissing her cheek, Troy embraced Gabriella tightly.

"Can you let me go now?" requested Gabriella after a few minutes. "I really need to finish getting ready."

"Fine," Troy reluctantly agreed, releasing his hold on his girlfriend. "I'll be out in the living room waiting, okay?"

"Alright."

* * *

"Troy, what do you want for Christmas?" asked Gabriella that night when she was in bed cuddled beside her boyfriend.

"I don't know," Troy responded, taking Gabriella's hand and lacing his fingers with hers. "Something you don't have to spend lots of money on. I don't want to make you go bankrupt or anything."

"You don't have any ideas to give me?"

"Not really. Whatever you get me I'll be happy with. I'm sure you won't get me something I'll hate; you're too sweet to do that on purpose and you know me too well to do it by accident." Troy squeezed his girlfriend's hand and leaned down to kiss her forehead.

A giggle escaped Gabriella's lips. "Yeah, I'll make sure it's something you like."

"So, what do _you_ want?" Troy inquired.

"Nothing, really." Gabriella shrugged. "But if you really want to get me something, I'm sure you can find something I'd like. You know the kindd of things I would pick out in stores and stuff."

Troy nodded in agreement.

"I'll get your present tomorrow evening," Gabriella decided aloud. "I'll see if your mom can go with me or something so I'm not walking around New York by myself in the dark."

"Good idea. I'll get my dad to come with me to get something for you."

Yawning, Gabriella snuggled closer to Troy. "I'm freezing," she stated, pulling the blanket up to her chin.

"And, by the way it looks, you're really sleepy." Troy ran his fingers through Gabriella's hair and kissed her head. "Try to fall asleep now, okay? We can talk more in the morning if you want to tell me anything else."

"Okay," Gabriella murmured in a tired voice as she carefully rested her cheek on Troy's shoulder and wrapped both of her arms around him. "Good night."

"Good night, Brie," returned Troy.

* * *

**What time is it? SUMMERTIME! Yeah, I'm done school, so that means more updates! I have a half-written oneshot for Father's Day (it's Troyella, but it's mostly family because it's more about Troy and his kids) and I have a oneshot I'm still sorting out in my head that I hope to write this summer along with a bunch more. I always get ideas for oneshots, but during the school year, I don't have much time to write them or else I write them and never post them. Also, I'm thinking of writing a short 3-5 chapter story this summer. I'm not sure about that yet, though. And of course, I'll be updating this story more often!**

**Okay, so this chapter did get a bit boring at points and I apologize for that. Please leave a review! Not many people reviewed last time. I know everyone's probably busy with the end of the school year (if you haven't finished already) , but I was just curious to see who's still reading. Have a great summer! The next chapter will be more New York stuff. The whole vacation was meant to be in this chapter, but seeing that it's almost 20 pages and nearly 10,000 words and it only passed the second full day they were there, I decided to stop and continue the vacation over a couple more chapters. So anyway, have a great summer! I hope to update soon!**


	21. Christmas Vacation Part 2

The next morning, Troy woke up to the feeling of Gabriella gently pushing his hair out of his face and kissing his forehead. She was murmuring something in a soft tone, but stopped as soon as she noticed that Troy was awake.

"What are you saying, Brie?" Troy asked as he pulled Gabriella closer to him and nuzzled her cheek.

"Nothing," lied Gabriella. Although she was really close to Troy, she just couldn't bring herself to reveal to him what she had been saying to him while he was asleep.

Troy didn't believe his girlfriend. "I know you were saying _something_. Brie, we've known each other for almost our whole lives. You can tell me anything you want." He lovingly stroked her dark curls.

Gabriella let out a sigh. "Alright, I will admit that I was saying something, but I just don't want to tell you what it was. It's embarrassing." Her cheeks turned red as she buried her face in Troy's shoulder.

"Then you don't have to," Troy spoke gently, touching his lips to the top of Gabriella's head. "I was just curious, but if you're not comfortable telling me, I won't force you to. I understand that our relationship isn't what it used to be." A slight hint of sadness could be heard in his voice.

"What's wrong? Don't you like being my boyfriend?" Tears filled Gabriella's eyes.

"Oh, Brie, don't cry," comforted Troy as he took his thumb and wiped away the tears as they poured out of her eyes. "I didn't mean it like that. I just want you to be comfortable telling me anything like you were when we were best friends."

"I'm gonna go take a shower now," mumbled Gabriella as she got out of bed, her eyes still moist, picked out clothes to wear that day, and left the bedroom.

Troy felt _horrible._ How could he have said such a thing to her? Yeah, he was a little hurt that she didn't feel like she could tell him anything anymore, but he loved being able to tell her she was beautiful and holding her tightly in his arms and kissing her. Letting out a sigh, he tried to relax while he waited for Gabriella to be finished in the bathroom.

* * *

"Brie," Troy began as Gabriella entered the room.

Gabriella did nothing more than look at Troy, her eyes full of hurt. Evidentially, she didn't want to have anything to do with him at the moment.

"Brie, please," Troy attempted again. "Please just sit down and talk to me. We need to sort this out."

"No," refused Gabriella.

Suddenly, an idea came to Troy. Carefully climbing out of bed, he slowly crept up behind Gabriella and lifted her off the ground and into his arms.

"Troy! Put me down! I said I didn't want to talk to you!" Gabriella insisted.

"Never," came Troy's playful response as he began to tickle Gabriella while carrying her over to the bed.

"Troy, stop that!" Gabriella laughed as she tried to get away from Troy.

Ignoring Gabriella's request, Troy placed her on the bed, then laid down next to her. "I'm sorry for making you upset earlier," he apologized.

"I don't want to talk about it."

Troy reached over and began to tickle Gabriella again. When she started giggling, he pulled her on top of him and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Let me go!"

Instead of complying to Gabriella's wish, Troy allowed his lips to meet hers in a kiss. However, this kiss wasn't like any other one they had shared. This time, he allowed his tongue to sweep across her lips. When Gabriella opened her mouth a little bit he slipped his tongue inside and began to gently nibble on her lower lip as his hands crept slightly lower than her waist.

"What are you doing?"

Startled, Troy and Gabriella broke apart and looked up to see Jack. After exchanging an embarrassed look with his girlfriend, Troy said, "Um...we were...we were just kissing."

"No, Troy, that wasn't an innocent kiss. Gabriella's was top of you and your hands were a little too low for my liking. I warned you about this! You're only fifteen years old! You shouldn't be kissing like that! It could lead to other things that you are definitely _not_ allowed to do and get away with."

Gabriella, who had already rolled off of Troy, buried her red face in his arm and grabbed his hand, allowing her fingers to lace with his.

Jack looked at the two teenagers for a moment before saying, "It's time for breakfast. Troy, you and I will talk about this later." With that, he exited the room.

"Let's go, Brie," Troy sighed.

"I-I'm not hungry," stammered Gabriella. "I need to just...I need to...I...I just have to go outside by myself for a little while and think things over. I'll be right out back if you need me for anything." In the back of the hotel's yard, there were several tables and chairs set up for eating outside. Since it was winter, no one would be using them, so Gabriella considered that a good spot to go to be alone.

"Why? What happened?"

"Troy, your dad was right. I was lying on top of you and we were making out. This is all new to me. I just need to be by myself." Gabriella let out a sigh as she saw Troy's hurt expression. "Wildcat, it's nothing you did," she spoke affectionately before kissing her boyfriend's cheek. "I just need to think about this whole situation."

"Alright, princess," Troy agreed finally, taking both Gabriella's hands in his and leaning in to touch his lips to her forehead. "I'll be in here if you need anything. I promise I won't go anywhere other than the hotel without telling you first."

"Thanks." Gabriella smiled at Troy as she hopped off the bed. After pulling on her coat and finding a pair of shoes to wear, she headed out of the suite.

Not knowing what else to do, Troy walked into the kitchen for breakfast.

"Where's Gabriella?" Lucille inquired as she handed Troy a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast.

"She went outside. She just wanted to be by herself for a little while."

"I hope I didn't embarrass her," Jack said. "Because that certainly wasn't my intention. I just was kind of...shocked, I guess, to find you two the way I did and I wanted to make sure nothing else was going to happen."

"No, you didn't," answered Troy as he sat down and began to move his eggs around with his fork. "I think I sort of scared her by kissing her the way I did. She said she just needed to think about what happened."

"Oh, okay. Where'd she go?"

"Just out back."

* * *

Outside, Gabriella was sitting at a table kicking the snow that was underneath it around with her foot. What had happened that morning was completely unexpected, but amazing. She had never imagined that it would feel that good to kiss Troy the way she'd kissed him. However, she was also feeling scared. What if Troy started to want more from her? She was determined to wait until she was married-or at least out of college-to do anything with a guy. She was sure that Troy would never, ever hurt her or force her into anything, but for some reason she was still frightened by the idea that Troy could be thinking about going further with her. She hadn't thought about it until that moment, but his hands had been sliding lower than what would be considered innocent.

"Hey."

Startled, Gabriella spun around to face the person she least wanted to see. Chad Danforth.

* * *

**Okay, so this is a really short chapter. I promise the next one will be longer, but I thought this was a good spot to end. Thanks to hopelessromanticgurl for giving me an idea for this chapter! The idea will be continued in the next chapter, too:) Please leave a review!**


	22. Christmas Vacation Part 3

"Hey, remember me?" Chad asked with a smirk on his face.

Gabriella couldn't answer. She was too surprised and scared to speak. She thought that after Chad was suspended from East High, he would never be able to bother her again, especially in a place such as New York that was so far from Albuquerque.

"Talk to me, baby," Chad begged, taking a seat beside Gabriella. "If you don't remember me, just say so and I'll tell you who I am."

"I-I do remember you," stammered Gabriella, bravely lifting her face so her eyes could meet Chad's. "You're the guy that tortured me at the homecoming dance and ended up getting suspended from the school. Now go away. I don't want to have anything to do with you."

"Are you sure? We could have a lot of fun together in my suite. It just so happens that it's only two doors down from yours."

Gabriella stared in shock. Was Chad stalking her or something? How did it come about that he was staying so close to her? And was he with adults, or had his parents just left him on his own in the city, allowing him to do whatever he felt like? "I gotta go," she finally spoke as she stood up.

"I'll come with you," Chad offered, jumping out of his seat and running after Gabriella. Grabbing her hand, he began to drag her along with him.

"Let go of me!" ordered Gabriella, panic overcoming her. What if Chad forced her into his suite and made her do things she didn't want to do with him?

"You don't need to be scared." Chad's voice was full of false comfort.

Gabriella felt her heart begin to pound as Chad pulled her through the doors to the hotel and to the location of the suites they were staying in. Once there, she attempted to yank her hand from his. However, he was gripping it too tightly.

"What are you doing?"

In an instant, Chad released Gabriella's hand and spun around to face Troy. His blue eyes were hard and icy, his mouth was set firmly, and his arms were crossed over his chest. "Hey, who are you?" Chad asked.

"Don't pretend you don't know me, because you know _exactly_ who I am. If you didn't, you wouldn't have let go of my girlfriend's hand as soon as you heard my voice."

"I wasn't holding her hand," insisted Chad.

"Yeah, and I just took a trip to the moon last night," said Troy, sarcasm heavy in his voice, as he took a step closer to his enemy. "You don't _dare_ touch Gabriella, especially after what you did to her at the homecoming dance."

"I didn't do nothing to her." Chad faked a smile and a friendly laugh. However, his feet shuffling on the ground was evidence that he attempting a lie.

Up until this point, Gabriella had just been standing in the hall, her eyes wide with fear and surprise, observing the disagreement between the two guys in front of her. But at this point, she couldn't handle watching anymore. Running forward, she wrapped her arms tightly around Troy's waist and buried her face in his chest, the events that had occurred between them that morning all forgotten in the midst of all the chaos.

"You okay?" Troy murmured gently. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"He wanted me to go back to his suite with him, but I refused," said Gabriella. "And then he tried to force me there, but you came out and stopped him in time." Her grip on Troy tightened.

"Stay away from my girlfriend," Troy ordered, giving Chad one last cold stare before lifting Gabriella into his arms and carrying her into their suite. After making sure the door was locked behind them, he took her into the living room and sat her on his lap. "If that idiot is staying this close to us, I'm never leaving your side when we go out of the suite. I don't want to risk him hurting you in any way."

Just then, Jack came into the room. "What was going on? I thought I heard yelling."

"Chad's staying in a suite near ours," Troy told his father, his voice displaying his hatred of the guy he had just argued with.

"Chad Danforth? The guy that got suspended from your school?"

"Yeah. He tried to force Brie to go in his suite with him. I'm never letting her near him alone again! I don't know what he was planning to do to her in there and I never want to find out." Troy protectively hugged Gabriella close to him.

"You're right; you shouldn't let Gabriella walk around the hotel alone with that guy around. You two need to stay together from now on. After what he did to her in school, we can't expect anything good from him."

Troy nodded in agreement before suggesting to his girlfriend that they should go into their room and discuss what had went on that morning between them. When Gabriella agreed, he allowed her to slide off her lap, but refused to do anything less than tightly clasp her hand in his as they walked into the bedroom.

"I'm sorry, Brie," apologized Troy. He gently stroked her hand, which he was still holding, with his thumb. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have kissed you like that without asking if you were ready."

"Troy, I...I liked it." Gabriella lifted her face and looked into Troy's eyes. "I just...uh...I just wish you would be careful where your hands go. I'm not ready to be touched like that."

Troy was stuck on what to say. He had already apologized and anyway, somehow it seemed as if an apology for being careless by putting his hands at an uncomfortable level wasn't enough. He knew he had to _prove_ that he was sorry. But how?

"Troy?" Gabriella spoke after a pause.

"I-I don't know what to do. I promise I won't do that again, but I want to make it up to you...I just don't...well, I don't know how."

"You don't need to do anything. I know you're sorry." Resting her cheek on Troy's shoulder, Gabriella began to relax.

"No, Brie. I'm not going to let this go that easily. I did something really bad and careless. I _need_ to show you how sorry I am," insisted Troy in a tone that displayed the fact that he wasn't going to change his mind anytime soon.

Gabriella let out a sigh. "Troy, I know you're trying to be sweet-and you're succeeding at it-but don't stress over this. I really like you. I could never stay mad at you about _anything._"

"Can I at least buy you a chocolate bar?" asked Troy, refusing to give up.

"Alright," Gabriella decided after a moment of thought. "But that's it. I don't want you spending all your money on me. I mean, you're already buying me a Christmas present."

* * *

It was Christmas Eve. Troy held Gabriella's hand as the two of them raced ahead of Jack and Lucille. To celebrate the occasion, they had decided to visit Rockefeller Center, as that had a wonderful tree on display and all sorts of entertainment.

Snow was falling rapidly, creating a scene so beautiful that it made nearly everyone that was part of the crowd celebrating the holiday wish they had a camera with them. The cold flakes coated the giant Christmas tree that stood only a few feet in the distance and rested on top of street lights and roofs.

"This tree is so big!" exclaimed Gabriella.

"I know," agreed Troy, genuinely impressed. _I'm sure glad I wasn't the one to put all the stuff on it,_ he said to himself.

"The lights look so pretty," continued Gabriella, her shining brown eyes focused on the pink, green, red, yellow, and purple lights that were expertly strung about the tree.

"You're pretty," Troy complimented, leaning in to kiss his girlfriend's lips. If only someone were taking a picture of that moment with the two of them kissing sweetly while snowflakes were steadily dropping down on them. It was perfect.

By this time, Troy's parents had caught up to Troy and Gabriella.

"What do you two want to do?" Jack inquired.

"I don't know," Troy shrugged. "What is there to do?"

"Well, inside there's all kinds of entertainment and ice skating."

"I know one thing: I do _not_ want to ice skate," decided Troy. "What kinds of entertainment are there?"

Jack pulled out the pamphlet on the Rockefeller Center that he had obtained in the hotel lobby before they had left. Looking it over, he replied, "Right now the New York City ballet school is doing their production of the Nutcracker, Julliard students are singing Christmas songs, and another group of Julliard students are putting on a play of _A Christmas Carol._"

"Is there anything to eat in there?"

"Troy, we didn't come here for food," Lucille pointed out.

"But none of that entertainment sounds entertaining to me. I mean, come on! Ballet? That's too girly. Singing? That's just weird, and a play? That would make me fall asleep within seconds."

"Why don't you ask Gabriella if she wants to do anything?"

Troy let out a sigh as he turned to Gabriella. "What do you want to do?"

"Well, the Nutcracker seems like the most interesting thing, though Ryan wouldn't be happy with our choice." Gabriella giggled.

Troy laughed along with Gabriella before letting out a quiet groan. _Come on! The Nutcracker? That thing's not even realistic! If there was really a land of sweets, I would've found it by now._

"Okay, let's go watch the Nutcracker, then," Lucille said.

_You mean, let's go be tortured by dancing fairies, _Troy thought to himself with disgust.

When they arrived inside, Troy, his parents, and Gabriella all sat down in front of the area where the ballet was being performed. At the moment, there were four girls in kimonos doing the Chinese dance from the second act.

"I hope they give out free fortune cookies at the end of this," whispered Troy in Gabriella's ear.

Gabriella gently smacked Troy's arm. "Stop it," she responded quietly. "I'm not a huge fan of ballet, either, but it was the best option out of the three. You have to admit it looks pretty cool, though."

As soon as Gabriella finished talking, the girls completed their dance, did a bow, and moved out of the way while two girls and two guys in Russian dress danced out to replace them. When they were over, six girls en pointe began to dance while holding small wooden flutes.

"This is lame," grumbled Troy, slouching in his chair and shuffling his feet.

"It actually looks beautiful," Gabriella disagreed. "I think I'm actually starting to like this more than I expected."

Once the girls with the flutes were finished, an girl that appeared to be about sixteen appeared. She wore a big, full skirt out of which five girls that looked like they were no older than eight crawled out from beneath of.

"Can this get any weirder?" Troy muttered under his breath.

This time, Gabriella ignored her boyfriend's complaint.

When that dance was finished, a seemingly endless amount of girls in purple and pink tutus and pointe shoes appeared one by one. It was the Waltz of the Flowers, the section of the ballet that never failed to disappoint anyone...well, anyone except for Troy.

"Dancing flowers? Seriously!" Troy complained.

Just then, a fairy in a blue tutu danced into the center of the flowers.

"And what is that, a fairy? Brie, next time I'm picking what we do."

"You said everything was stupid and lame, remember?" Gabriella reminded him. "That's why I picked."

Troy didn't respond.

* * *

When the ballet finished, Troy, Gabriella, Jack, and Lucille left the Rockefeller Center and waited out front for a taxi to pass by so they could go back to their hotel. Once they were settled in their suite, Troy and Gabriella had changed into their pajamas and cuddled up on the sofa to watch the basketball game that Troy had insisted Gabriella needed to watch with him after "the torture of the Nutcracker."

"My Brie," Troy murmured as he hugged Gabriella close to him and kissed the top of her head.

"What did you just call me?" Gabriella was almost positive she had heard Troy correctly, but she just wanted to hear him repeat his words once more.

"My Brie," replied Troy, slightly embarrassed. He hadn't exactly been thinking when he had been speaking.

"I like it," Gabriella decided with a smile.

* * *

**So, here's chapter 22! I'm hoping I'll be able to get in the rest of the vacation in the next chapter, so watch out for a long one. Also, if you haven't done so already, check out my story **_**Forever.**_**The story is about Gabriella, who's the princess of England, and Troy, who's the US president's son. It's romance/drama. My first drama attempt in a year! Oh, and I also plan to have a Father's Day oneshot out hopefully ON Father's Day. If I'm too busy, I'll post it Monday instead.**

**Please review:)**


	23. Christmas Vacation Part 4

When Troy awoke the next morning, he discovered that Gabriella was not curled up in his arms as she had been when she had fallen asleep last night. Tossing off the covers, he hurriedly raced out of the room to see his parents and his girlfriend sitting in the living room.

"Finally," Gabriella said as she motioned for Troy to sit beside her. "We've been waiting for you to wake up for so long. It's almost ten o' clock!"

Yawning, Troy sat beside Gabriella and wrapped her in his arms. "I thought my parents wouldn't be ready until eleven or something." Then, lowering his voice, he added, "And how did my Brie get out of bed? I was holding you so close last night."

"Well, you're not exactly an easy person to wake up," Gabriella responded with a playful smile.

"Hey," Troy scolded teasingly as he kissed Gabriella's cheek, earning a giggle from her.

"Are you two going to open your presents now?" Lucille inquired.

"Yeah, Mom," answered Troy. "Let me just go get Gabriella's present from our room." He stood up. _Our room,_ he repeated to himself. _I like that. I wonder if we'll ever live together and have a room to call "our room" forever. _

When Troy returned, he took his spot beside Gabriella and handed her his present. "Merry Christmas, my Brie," he whispered in her ear before putting his arm around her shoulders and kissing the top of her head.

Gabriella smiled at what her boyfriend had called her. It sounded so possessive, as if she was going to be his forever. _I hope so,_ she thought dreamily. While thoughts of her relationship with Troy in the future swirled throughout her mind, she began to rip off the wrapping paper that was concealing her present. When her gift was revealed, her eyes instantly darted to Troy's face. Barely a split second passed before her lips were on his.

The two teenagers had both forgotten that Jack and Lucille were in the room until Jack coughed purposefully to remind them that he and his wife were watching.

Quickly pulling apart with red faces, Gabriella looked back at her present, then gave Troy a simple smile. "Thank you so much." He had gotten her a picture frame with their names on it-evidentially it had been custom designed-and put a picture of them inside of it.

"I'm glad you like it," Troy responded. "When I was out looking for something you would like, I saw this place that customized picture frames, coffee mugs, and all this other stuff in only an hour, so I checked it out and, surprisingly, I could afford to buy something for you."

After hugging her boyfriend tightly, Gabriella handed Troy her gift to him.

Troy tore the paper away from his gift. As soon as he saw what it was, he turned to Gabriella and kissed her cheek. If they were alone, he would've given her a proper kiss, but since his parents were watching and they had already been kissing furiously in front of them that morning, he settled for an innocent, sweet kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, princess. I love it," he murmured as he laid his cheek on top of her head. She had given him a new basketball.

"You're welcome." Gabriella snuggled into Troy.

"Do you want to open your presents from us?" asked Lucille. "We got something for Gabriella, too, since she's with us today."

Troy and Gabriella both agreed, so Lucille handed them each a gift. Gabriella said that Troy could unwrap his first, so he began to do so.

"Oh my gosh, this is awesome!" Troy exclaimed as he saw that he had gotten a laptop. "It's the coolest thing ever!"

"We thought that since you're in high school now, you were responsible enough to have your own computer," Jack explained.

"I love it!" shouted Troy.

Once Troy recovered from his intense excitement, Gabriella opened her present. It was a nice, small purse that was evidentially purchased from a boutique in New York City. She guessed it probably cost nearly as much as Troy's laptop. "Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Bolton," smiled Gabriella. "This is really nice! You didn't have to spend all this money on me."

"It was nothing," assured Lucille. "We had to get you something since you were coming along with us."

"Well, thank you. I really like it!"

"Hey, can I try to set up my laptop now?" Troy inquired.

"You can start charging it. New laptops have to be charged before they're set up," replied Jack.

An expression of disappointment crossed Troy's face. "Aw, but I wanted to use it now."

"Wildcat, you're acting like a two-year-old," Gabriella remarked, hugging her boyfriend. As she pulled away, she laced her fingers with his and kissed his cheek.

"Come on, Brie. Let's go to our room so I can get this thing charged." Troy stood up with the box containing his laptop under one arm while he kept his free hand connected with Gabriella's.

* * *

"I'll see you soon! Bye, Dad." As she hung up her phone, Gabriella walked over to the bed and plopped down next to Troy, who was finally getting to set up his laptop after waiting several hours for it to be charged.

"What did your dad want?" Troy inquired, his eyes not leaving the screen of his new computer for a second.

"He just wanted to wish me a merry Christmas," answered Gabriella, hugging her boyfriend's arm and resting her cheek against his shoulder.

"Brie, I'm getting my camera," Troy announced. "And you're going to let me take a picture of you."

"Why?"

"I want you to be my desktop background. That way, I can look at you every time I turn on my laptop. How cool will that be?"

A light blush crept across Gabriella's cheeks and a smile appeared on her face. "I love that idea." She had to admit, her relationship with Troy was changing...again. They weren't just two teenagers that had just started dating, they were at a more mature level. Troy had become very possessive and both of them had begun to give more intense kisses. Previously, they had kept their mouths shut and only briefly connected their lips but now, they were comfortable slipping their tongues into each other's mouths. And the fact that he wanted her to be his desktop background showed his growing obsession with her.

Smiling, Troy placed a kiss on top of his girlfriend's head. "My Brie..."

Happiness surged through Gabriella as she heard Troy call her his. No matter how many times those words came out of his mouth, she would never get sick of hearing them. "My Troy..."

Troy had no idea what to say, so he just connected his lips with Gabriella's, his tongue wandering into her mouth.

"I really like you, Troy," murmured Gabriella after she and Troy pulled away from one another. Cuddling into his side, she let out a small sigh and closed her eyes.

"I think someone was up too early this morning," Troy said, leaning over to give his girlfriend a kiss on the cheek. "What time did you get up, anyway?"

"Around six," yawned Gabriella.

"Six? Brie, that's ridiculous! Six isn't even close to being an acceptable hour to get out of bed! After I take your picture, I want you to lay down and try to sleep while I finish setting this thing up." He looked at the clock that was in the room. "It's eight o' clock already, anyway, so it's not _too_ early to go to bed." Reaching over, he pulled his camera off the top of the end table beside him. He quickly took a picture of Gabriella, then looked at it on the camera to make sure it came out the way he wanted. "Awww, you look adorable. Now get some rest."

Gabriella eagerly got under the covers and laid her head on the pillow. Barely any time passed before she was fast asleep.

"Let's see now..." Troy mumbled to himself while picking up his camera again. Once it was turned on, he took several pictures of Gabriella, then put it away and ran his fingers through her dark curls. _She looks like an angel,_ he thought, smiling to himself as he began to upload all the pictures he had taken. When he got his desktop background set up and made sure all the settings on the laptop were alright, he turned his new computer off and put it on the floor beside the bed. He then crawled under the covers beside Gabriella and kissed her forehead, cheeks, and nose before taking her into his arms.

Feeling Troy cuddle her close against him, Gabriella's eyelids opened halfway. "Wildcat?"

"Shhh. Go back to sleep, Brie."

"Wildcat, I want to tell you something," insisted Gabriella softly. "You know the other day when I was saying something as you were waking up and you asked what I was saying?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I thought you would want to know that I was saying everything I like about you. I told you that I like how you were so gentle with me and that I like how you kiss and cuddle me, and watch Zac Efron movies with me." She giggled.

"Brie, you are too sweet," Troy responded, pulling his girlfriend even closer to him and pressing his lips to her forehead.

* * *

During the week leading up to New Years' Eve, Troy and Gabriella spent some more time in Central Park. Jack and Lucille convinced them to go visit a museum with them, too, which Troy wasn't too enthusiastic about. However, for Gabriella, it was an enjoyable experience.

When the day of New Years' Eve came, Troy and Gabriella realized that their time in New York was running out. They would only get one more chance to do something and one more night to snuggle as they slept. Of course they would have sleepovers when they got back home, but it just wasn't the same as being able to share a bed every night.

"Troy, can you take a walk with me?" Gabriella inquired, taking both Troy's hands and trying to pull him up from his seat on their bed.

"Sure, princess," Troy agreed with a smile.

After getting on their shoes and coats, the two teenagers headed outside and started to head along the sidewalks of the city.

"Brie, can you sit here on this bench with me? I want to talk to you about something," Troy said after they had been walking in silence for about five minutes.

"Okay," Gabriella replied, following Troy over to the bench that was in the grass not too far from the sidewalk.

"I was just wondering how you feel when we kiss, like not just an innocent kiss, a kiss like we had this morning." That morning, Troy and Gabriella had been kissing intensely soon before they had gotten out of bed to get ready.

"It makes me really happy and satisfied that I'm the only one that's ever kissed you like that," answered Gabriella.

Troy paused for a moment. "If I tell you how I sometimes feel, do you promise not to hate me?"

"I could never hate you," Gabriella said simply as she laid her cheek on her boyfriend's shoulder.

"Sometimes-not always-I feel like touching you. I try to pay attention to what I'm doing so I don't stop thinking and accidentally do it, but I just thought you should know..." He stopped to let out a deep sigh. "And if I ever make you uncomfortable in any way, tell me immediately and I'll stop."

"Thanks, Wildcat." Gabriella hugged Troy. "I'll make sure I let you know if you ever go too far."

"Okay." Troy returned Gabriella's embrace and kissed her cheek. "So, are you gonna stay up until midnight with me or are you gonna go to sleep?"

"I want to stay up until midnight and watch movies with you, but if I get too tired, I might fall asleep. If I do, wake me up at midnight so I can get a kiss."

"I'll definitely do that." Troy nuzzled his nose against Gabriella's and kissed her softly on the lips.

* * *

That night, Troy and Gabriella were sitting in the suite of the living room. The movie that had been playing had just ended, and the clock read 11:58.

"Brie, are you awake?" Troy asked gently.

"Yeah," replied Gabriella with a yawn. "I was about to fall asleep, though."

"It's almost midnight."

"It is?" Gabriella looked at the clock, which now said 11:59. She gazed into Troy's eyes as she waited rather impatiently for the time to change.

"It'll only be a few more seconds," Troy told her.

In about twenty seconds, the clock read that it was officially midnight. Troy and Gabriella leaned in and connected their lips as they wrapped their arms around each other.

"Happy New Year, Brie," said Troy as they pulled away from their kiss.

"Happy New Year, Wildcat," Gabriella returned.

* * *

**This chapter turned out **_**much **_**shorter than I expected. I also suck at holiday chapters for some reason and I didn't like the way this came out too much. I promise the next one will be a lot better!**


	24. Returning to School

It was the first day of school after Christmas break. Troy and Gabriella walked through the large doors of East High holding hands and immediately looked around for their friends.

"Gabby! Troy!" shouted Sharpay, running down the hall toward the two teenagers. She first hugged Gabriella, then Troy. "We all missed you so much over the break!"

"Hey," greeted Kelsi, who had, along with everyone else, been following Sharpay at a much slower pace.

"Did you see the Julliard show?" asked Ryan urgently. "I saw pictures from it and videos and it looked awesome to me, but to be there live must've been even better!"

"No, we didn't see it," Gabriella replied.

"What? I even called and texted you about seeing it! How could you not have gone?"

"Shut up for once, Ryan," Sharpay ordered, smacking her brother's arm before hurrying to where Zeke stood and grabbing his hand. "Zeke!" she squealed. Yes, Sharpay was a really fun person, but she could get to the point where she was a little too enthusiastic about having a boyfriend. Between her and Ryan's personalities, it could be assumed that the Evans family was very unique.

"Dude, where have you been all this time?" inquired Jason as he turned to Troy. "We haven't seen you or Gabriella for the entire Christmas break!"

Troy groaned inwardly. Sure, Jason was his friend, but there were times when his clueless personality could get irritating. "I was in New York for a family vacation and I brought Brie with me."

"Jason!" scolded Martha. "I've been telling you that for the whole two weeks we didn't have school! Do you _ever_ pay attention?"

"Yeah, sure, I pay attention. When Ms. Darbus was talking about Thanksgiving in homeroom, I asked her how her holiday was."

"Yes, you ruined it right when she was about to _finally_ shut up," Troy said. No one particularly liked Ms. Darbus. She was an overly dramatic homeroom teacher obsessed with the theatre and her biggest pet peeve was cell phones.

"We'd better get to homeroom," Taylor spoke. "And find out what Ms. Darbus is going to lecture us on today."

Everyone groaned as they began to head toward their classroom.

* * *

"Good morning, good morning!" Ms. Darbus welcomed loudly the second after the bell rang. "I hope you all had a wonderful vacation, and I hope you're all thrilled to be back and ready to learn. Maybe some of you have gotten rid of your cell phones over the holiday. That would be great for me. Cell phones are evil, unnecessary objects that are overused. There are normal phones all over, but you teenagers have to use those distracting portable ones."

Just then, a phone rang.

"Who's phone is that?" Ms. Darbus asked sharply, glaring at the class.

No one replied.

"Who's phone is that?" repeated Ms. Darbus.

Still no answer.

"Excuse me." Ms. Darbus ignored the class for a moment to look inside her large, colorful purse. "Never mind," she announced. "It was my own phone."

Laughter erupted from the students. After that speech on how horrible and evil cell phones were, it turned out that Ms. Darbus herself owned one and had allowed it to ring in class.

"Quiet, everyone! We have to go over today's announcements."

After Zeke whispered something in his ear, Troy walked to the front of the room, grabbed the small bucket that Ms. Darbus always used to collect the students' cell phones when she caught them using them, and slammed it down on his teacher's desk. "Cell phone," he demanded, copying what Ms. Darbus always said when she was confiscating phones.

Tears of laughter were running out of all the students' eyes at this point. The whole situation was just too funny.

"Troy Bolton! Detention during free period!" Ms. Darbus shouted.

The laughter in the room hadn't ceased yet.

"Stop! Silence!" ordered Ms. Darbus. "You're wasting time! We need to get to announcements before-" She was cut off by the bell.

The students all rushed out of the classroom, still laughing.

* * *

"Brie," Troy said quietly-but urgently-as he approached Gabriella in the hall just before lunch.

"Yeah, Wildcat?"

"We're not gonna eat in the cafeteria today," Troy announced, taking his girlfriend's hand.

"What? Why? Troy, our friends are expecting us! We haven't seen them all Christmas break and I practically promised Taylor I'd work on the science project we just got assigned to do together during lunch after we finish eating."

"Don't worry. I told Taylor that you'll talk to her in the library during free period while I'm in detention and I told the others that we're going to skip lunch with them today."

"But why? Wildcat, you're making no sense. I've never known you to refuse food."

"I never said we weren't eating anything. Just come with me." Troy led Gabriella through the halls, which were emptying as students filed into the large, noisy cafeteria, and to a part of the school she had never been in before. "We go up these stairs and then we're there." Troy pointed to the steps that were in front of them.

"Are we even allowed? Troy..." Gabriella trailed off as she was met with an beautiful sight. She was on the roof of East High, surrounded by blooming flowers in large flowerpots and sunshine, which was warm despite the fact that it was winter. Winters in Albuquerque were always mild and it was rare that snow fell, so it wasn't a shock that it was above freezing. Looking at Troy in amazement, Gabriella asked, "How did you find this place?"

"For some reason they moved my literature class to a different room that's over in this direction. I kind of got lost going there and found this place. Do you promise not to tell _anyone_ about this? I really just want it to be our special place to go while we're in school."

"I promise." The thought had already crossed Gabriella's mind that she did _not_ want to share this special location with anyone except her boyfriend.

"So, you hungry?" asked Troy as he let go of Gabriella's hand and took a seat on the ground. Taking his lunch out of his school bag, he offered her half of his ham and cheese sandwich, as he knew she was planning to buy a lunch that day. Lucky for both of them, Troy always packed a tremendous amount of food, so there would be plenty for them to eat.

As she sat down, Gabriella took the sandwich from her boyfriend. "Thanks, Wildcat."

Peaceful silence settled across the school roof. This had to be the quietest place in the entire building.

"What do you think they use this for, Brie?" Troy inquired.

Gabriella shrugged. "I have no idea. Maybe they just put plants and stuff on the roof to make the school look nice, though I've never seen flowers on the roof when I was outside."

"Neither have I. The walls around the roof seem to be pretty high, though, so I guess everything stays hidden." Troy handed Gabriella a small bag of chips. "Here you go. Don't worry about not eating the whole thing. I brought another bag for me."

"Thank you so much for bringing me here," said Gabriella. "This is really nice."

"No problem," Troy responded, sliding closer to Gabriella and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I mean, I found this place, so why not share it with my beautiful girlfriend?" He leaned in to kiss her.

Wrapping her arms around Troy's neck, Gabriella kissed him back. When they pulled away, she rested her forehead against his and looked into his eyes.

Troy placed another small kiss on Gabriella's lips, earning a smile from her.

Gabriella let go of Troy and said, "You stayed up here for your entire literature class, didn't you?"

"Of course." Troy smiled. "You know reading isn't really my thing."

Pretending to be shocked, Gabriella gasped. "Really? Then what am I going to do with the big book collection I bought you as a Valentine's Day present?"

Troy laughed and loosely hugged Gabriella. "I don't know, are you able to return them?"

Giggling, Gabriella laid her cheek on Troy's shoulder. "You were funny this morning in homeroom," she remarked, her giggles becoming louder at the memory of what her boyfriend had done when Ms. Darbus' cell phone had rung.

"Well, I can't take all the credit for it. Zeke was the one that said someone should take Ms. Darbus' phone away and then that gave me the idea to actually do it." Troy laughed. "The only bad part is that I have to miss free period basketball practice because of detention."

"I know. That's not good." Gabriella let out a small sigh.

"Yeah, it's so unfair! I'm stuck in a boring detention while you get to hang out with Taylor."

"Wildcat, we're not going to be just hanging out. We're going to be researching and taking notes for our science project," corrected Gabriella. "I know if you were doing something with a friend, especially if it was Jason, you wouldn't get any work done."

"You got that right. And you're right about Jason-he never does his homework to begin with. He told me so before basketball practice last time we had school." Jason wasn't on the basketball team in the beginning of the year, but a few guys had dropped out unexpectedly, so the coach had held another round of tryouts to get more players.

"How did he make it this far without having to repeat a grade?" wondered Gabriella.

"I honestly don't know," Troy replied, kissing the top of his girlfriend's head.

_Ring!_

Letting out a reluctant sigh, Gabriella stood up and grabbed her school bag. "At least we're in the same class." She and Troy both had world geography at that time.

"Yeah, even though the class is boring," muttered Troy. "Why don't we skip?"

"Troy, I've never skipped a class in my life. I'm not going to start now." Gabriella had to admit, however, that Mr. Greene-the geography teacher-wasn't the most exciting teacher in East High. He always mumbled in a monotone voice, enabling hardly anyone to understand him. He let all the obnoxious, popular students walked around the room talking on their cell phones loudly while the quieter students such as Troy and Gabriella would be murdered if they even exchanged one word.

"But the class is as lame as the teacher," Troy complained.

Gabriella laughed. "Yeah, but there aren't many good teachers here. I like my literature and algebra teachers, but that's it."

"Well, at least you have two teachers you like. I only like my gym teacher." By this time, Troy and Gabriella were off the roof and wandering through the halls.

"Oh, you don't like Ms. Darbus?" teased Gabriella.

"How could I not have mentioned her? She's the most wonderful teacher ever!" Troy declared sarcastically as he and Gabriella reached the classroom their geography class was in.

Laughing, Gabriella sat down in the seat at her desk, which was right beside Troy's, and pulled her thick geography textbook from her school bag.

* * *

"Paint, paint!" Ms. Darbus called out as she briskly walked through the backstage area of the auditorium, observing the work of all the detention students. Yes, rather than sitting at a desk quietly with no cell phones, ipods, or other electronics, everyone in detention was expected to paint sets for the winter musical, which was being held the following week.

Troy rolled his handsome eyes as he stuck his wide paintbrush into a can of navy blue paint and smeared it on the cardboard piece in front of him. He was supposed to be making part of a nighttime set, and it wasn't the most exciting thing.

"Work faster, Bolton!" ordered Ms. Darbus as she hurried past Troy. "We don't have all day."

Troy sighed. His joke really hadn't been worth it.

* * *

"Hey, Brie!" Troy called as he walked toward his girlfriend after sorting out what he needed to take home and what could be kept in his locker. The school day was officially over.

Gabriella turned around and stopped. "Hey!" she greeted, tossing her arms around Troy. "How was detention?"

"We painted sets," Troy answered in an annoyed tone.

"You painted sets?" repeated Gabriella.

"Yes. For the winter musical," said Troy with a sigh. "It was so ridiculous. I had to do part of this stupid nighttime background thing and Ms. Darbus kept yelling at me to work faster for the entire period. What I did in homeroom wasn't worth that at all."

Gabriella leaned up and kissed her boyfriend's cheek. "Does that make you feel better?"

A smile spread across Troy's face. "A lot better." He took Gabriella's hand in his as they headed toward the doors of East High. "So, how are you doing on your science project so far?"

"Well, Taylor and I need a six page report on Boron and a model of a Boron atom by next Friday. We barely made a dent in taking notes because the librarian wasn't paying attention and there were some loud cheerleaders hanging out in there with their boyfriends. We both checked out a few books and are getting together tonight to work on it more."

"What's Boron?" asked Troy.

"An element," Gabriella replied.

"Oh. Well, when can we work on our project?" Troy and Gabriella had been assigned to do a poster on Africa together for geography.

"You can come home with me as soon as we get off the bus and we can do it then," suggested Gabriella.

"That sounds good! Hey, what are you having for dinner?"

"My dad said something about taking it easy and ordering a pizza tonight. Since my mom left, he's really been stressing over cooking every night."

"Can I stay?"

"It's rude to invite yourself to someone's house, Wildcat!"

"But you're my best friend _and_ my girlfriend," Troy pointed out. "So that means that I have a right to."

"I'll think about it," came Gabriella's playful response as she stepped onto the school bus with Troy and found a seat.

* * *

**Yay! Updates two days in a row! I'd just like to say that this is probably one of my favorite chapters of this story:) Review!**


	25. Injury

**Hey, guys! At the end there's a couple paragraphs that could be considered low M. No, Troyella don't do anything, but Troy is...well, he's just thinking like a guy. LOL. Anyway, hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"I've got to stay late today," Troy announced to Gabriella as he opened his locker. They had just arrived at school and were taking a quick trip to their lockers before heading to class. "I have an extra basketball practice. The playoffs are coming up really soon, so the coach wants us to work harder than we've been."

"Can I watch?" Gabriella inquired, grabbing her chemistry textbook from the upper shelf in her locker.

"I wish you could, princess, but it's a closed practice." After closing his locker, Troy went behind Gabriella and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry."

"That isn't your rule, Wildcat. You don't have to be sorry. I'll just study in the library while you're at practice." She turned her head to look at Troy and smile.

Leaning down, Troy touched his lips to his girlfriend's forehead. "You can go home if you want. You don't need to sit around waiting for me to be done." He released his hold on her so she could complete the task of getting things out of her locker.

"I want to, Troy," insisted Gabriella, shutting her locker door and putting both her arms around Troy's waist. Squeezing him tightly, she cuddled into his chest. A relaxed sigh left her mouth as he returned her embrace.

Troy rested his cheek on top of Gabriella's head as one of his hands reached up to stroke her long, dark, curls. When the two teenagers eventually pulled away from one another, he took both her hands and leaned down to connect their lips.

"No kissing in the hall," snapped Darbus, who was moving by briskly, a script in her hand.

Reluctantly, Troy and Gabriella slipped their tongues out of each other's mouths.

"I guess we'd better get to class," said Gabriella, her eyes on Troy's lips. She had been greatly enjoying the kiss they were sharing.

"What do you say we ditch homeroom and go to our special place?" suggested Troy, releasing one of Gabriella's hands so they could walk beside each other.

"Wildcat, I told you just the other day-I've never skipped a class and I'm not about to start now."

"But Brie, it's only homeroom. Please?" begged Troy.

"Let's get to class," Gabriella said as she started to pull Troy down the hall.

* * *

Troy was running. As he ran amongst the guys-half in the white Wildcats jerseys and half in the red-he frantically looked around for someone in a white jersey that was available to accept a pass.

"Over here!" shouted Jason from behind Troy.

Troy spun around, still dribbling the ball, picked it up, and threw it to Jason, who took it down to the basket and attempted a jump shot. He failed, leaving Troy to quickly snatch the ball.

A tall senior that was playing on the red team jogged up to Troy and tried to steal the ball from him. Troy ran as fast as he could away from that guy. However, he soon caught up to him and, roughly tripping him, took the ball.

Intense pain seared through Troy's wrist as he tried to catch himself while being knocked to the ground. Holding back a groan, he fell onto his back, his hand unable to support his body.

Coach Welsh blew his whistle. "Time out! Meyers, you know better than to intentionally trip another player! Go sit on the bleachers for the rest of the practice." He rushed onto the court and up to Troy. "Bolton, you alright? Can you get up?"

Troy forced himself to his feet using his uninjured hand. "I-I think I'm okay," he stammered, trying to ignore the pain that was now traveling to his fingertips.

"Let me see that hand," the coach ordered.

Troy held out his hand for Coach Welsh to look at. "It's starting to swell up. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to send you to the nurse. It could be broken."

Letting out a sigh, Troy said, "Okay." He then headed for the double doors that led out of the gym. Once in the hall, he made his way to the nurse's office, which wasn't far off.

"Hello," greeted a smiling young nurse with blonde hair pulled back into a high ponytail and thick-framed glasses. "I'm Sarah. What can I do for you?"

"I hurt my wrist playing basketball," Troy replied, holding out his swollen hand. "My coach said it might be broken."

Sarah gently touched Troy's wrist. "Does that hurt?"

"Yes."

"Can you bend it at all?"

Troy tried to bend his wrist, but pain tore through the injured area before he had hardly moved it a millimeter. Shaking his head, he answered, "No, I can't."

"Take a seat." Sarah motioned to the wall against which there were three chairs. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to call your parents. I think it is broken."

Just then, the door to the nurse's office opened to reveal Jason holding Troy's water bottle in one hand and his school bag in the other.

"Are you hurt, too?" Sarah inquired.

"No," said Jason. "I'm just bringing Troy's stuff to him." He walked over to Troy, who by this time with sitting, and placed his things on the chair beside him. "How is it?"

"Broken," Troy mumbled.

"That's too bad. You're gonna miss so many practices and-"

"I know, most likely the playoffs." Troy almost never cried, but now, he felt a tear slip from one of his blue eyes. Quickly wiping it away, he told Jason, "You'd better get back to practice. I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you," Jason returned as he exited the room.

"Alright, so what's your name?" asked Sarah.

"Troy Bolton," Troy spoke.

"Are your parents at home or at work?"

"My mom might be home by now, but my dad is probably still working."

"Okay. Do you want to tell me your home phone number? I'll see if your mom's home yet."

Troy told the nurse his phone number as picked up the phone that was resting on the counter and dialed. Evidentially, his mom had arrived home, for Sarah began to explain his situation. In a couple minutes, she hung up and announced to Troy, "She said she's leaving right away to get you."

"Okay." Troy sat in silence for a moment before a thought suddenly hit him. Gabriella! She was in the library waiting for him to finish his practice. Taking his cell phone from his school bag, he punched in her number and held the phone to his ear.

"Hey, Wildcat," greeted Gabriella, who was in the middle of doing an English worksheet.

"Hey, Brie, I'm the nurse's office. My mom's coming to get me. One of the guys on my team tripped me in practice and when I fell, I hurt my wrist. The nurse said she thinks it's broken," Troy explained.

"Awww, my poor Wildcat. I'm coming to see you right now." Without waiting for her boyfriend to respond, Gabriella shut her phone, packed up her bag, and hurried to the nurse's office. "Which wrist is it?" she wondered, moving Troy's things from the seat next to him so she could sit there.

"Unfortunately, my right one," answered Troy, holding his inflamed hand out.

Gabriella kissed Troy's hurt wrist softly. "It's so swollen," she murmured.

"Yeah." Troy, feeling the need for comfort, rested his head on his girlfriend's shoulder and tried to relax as he felt her fingers lovingly brush his tousled, sweaty hair from his face.

Letting out a sigh, Gabriella let her head lean on top of Troy's.

"Troy, we're going to the emergency room," Lucille announced as she arrived in the nurse's office. "Gabriella, you can come along, too."

Troy and Gabriella rose from their seats, Gabriella taking Troy's bag and water bottle so he wouldn't need to struggle to hold it with one hand. Once they were both in the backseat of the car, she took his uninjured hand and held it tightly in both of hers as her lips found his cheek and placed several kisses there.

"Thanks, Brie." Troy managed to smile through his pain at Gabriella's comfort.

* * *

Troy was sitting in Gabriella's living room with her. After two hours spent at the hospital getting x-rays, having a cast put on, and listening to the doctor talk about what Troy could and couldn't do for the six weeks his cast was on, they had finally been able to head home with a bottle of pain medication. On the way back to their houses, Gabriella had told Troy that he could sleep over at her house if he wanted. He had, of course, agreed, as he felt that he would feel better if he had his girlfriend to snuggle in bed with while he slept.

"I'll miss the first two playoff games," Troy remarked sadly as he felt tears slowly trickle down his cheeks.

"Aw, don't cry," soothed Gabriella as she used her thumb to wipe Troy's tears away and gave him a tight hug.

Struggling to stop himself from shedding more tears, Troy said, "I'm sorry, Brie. I know I shouldn't be crying in front of you, especially over something as stupid as missing playoff games."

"Troy, let's go to my room," suggested Gabriella, releasing her boyfriend from her embrace and rising from her seat.

Troy followed Gabriella up to her bedroom, where she closed the door behind them.

"Troy, my dad can't see us now. I'm the only one that's here with you." Gabriella sat down on her bed beside Troy and rested her cheek on his shoulder. "You can cry all you need to. I won't be mad at you or think you're stupid or anything like that. The playoff games meant a lot to you and besides, everyone needs to cry sometimes."

At Gabriella's invitation, Troy let all his tears flood down his face.

Gabriella embraced Troy, continuing to let her cheek rest on his shoulder.

When about five minutes has passed, Troy wiped his eyes with the back of his left hand and hugged his girlfriend in return. "Thanks for being here for me," he told her.

"It's no problem at all, Wildcat," Gabriella assured, looking up into Troy's tear-stained face.

Troy leaned in to kiss Gabriella.

Smiling as she realized what Troy was doing, Gabriella eagerly accepted his kiss and, before long, was licking and nibbling his lower lip, begging for him to let her tongue explore his mouth.

"Brie, you're getting really good at that," Troy commented when he and his girlfriend finally pulled away from one another.

A light blush covered Gabriella's face. "Thanks. You're getting really good at it, too."

"I have some dinner down here if you two want to eat!" David called from the bottom of the stairs.

Troy's stomach growled, reminding him of how hungry he was. "What are we having, Brie?" he inquired as he slid off the bed and took Gabriella's hand.

"Chicken," said Gabriella.

"Yes! That's just what I was hungry for."

* * *

After dinner, Gabriella let Troy tell her the answers to all the questions on his worksheets while she wrote them down for him, as it was impossible for him to hold a pencil properly because of his broken wrist. By the time they finished that, it was ten o' clock and, since they had school the next day, time for them to go to bed.

"Brie, do you care if I just sleep in my boxers?" Troy asked. "I know I'm really not supposed to be doing that with you anymore, but it's going to be hard to get these clothes off with one hand and I really don't want to try to put new ones on."

"It's not a problem for me," Gabriella replied as she walked over to her dresser and pulled one of Troy's shirts that she had snuck out of his house a while ago from a drawer. She then walked over to her bathroom. As she shut the door, she told Troy, "I'll be out in a minute. I'm just gonna change quick."

"Okay."

It wasn't long before Gabriella emerged from the bathroom to find Troy struggling to pull his shirt off. If they were still just friends, she would've helped him, but because they were dating, she thought it would be a bit inappropriate to undress him. "I'll wait in bed," she announced as she pulled back the covers that were spread across her mattress and climbed in.

"I'll be there in a minute."

"Take your time. I don't want you to hurt yourself more."

Just as the words came out of Gabriella's mouth, Troy completed his task and got under the blankets beside her. "So that's where my shirt went," he said, noticing what his girlfriend was wearing. "You've got to stop stealing from me."

Gabriella giggled as she turned out the light beside her bed and wrapped her arms around Troy's waist, her cheek resting on his bare chest.

Troy hugged Gabriella back and kissed her forehead. "Good night."

"Good night." After kissing her boyfriend's cheek, Gabriella closed her eyes and was instantly asleep.

Although he had felt tired while doing his homework, all drowsiness left Troy as he thought about how Gabriella was in his shirt and only his shirt. He could feel her bare legs against his and he was sure that if he pulled back the covers a little, he would see that his shirt had moved upward from her shifting around to get comfortable, revealing part of her underwear. As he closed his eyes to try to force sleep to come over him, he began to wonder what it would be like to lift his shirt over her head, unclasp her bra, and run his fingers over her breasts while kissing them before removing her wet underwear and hearing her let out moans as he slipped inside of her.

_That would be...wait, I can't think about Brie like this! If she knew what was going through my head, she would kill me! _Troy considered as he felt himself grow hard. _I really hope she's asleep for good. If she would wake up now..._ He opened his eyes. Relaxing at the sight of his girlfriend snuggled comfortably against him, her body completely still and her breathing even, he shut his eyes again and tried to fall asleep.


	26. Argument

Gabriella opened her eyes the next morning to the sound of her alarm clock as well as to the feeling of something hard against her leg. Shaking her boyfriend furiously, she demanded, "Troy, what did you do to me while I was sleeping?"

"Huh?" mumbled Troy, his eyelids opening partway. He kept a tight hold on Gabriella.

"I can feel you, and if you feel that...that...bad, then you must've been feeling me while I was asleep," Gabriella spat. "What's your problem? We're freaking fifteen-year-olds! Do you want to tempt me into stuff I'm not ready for and end up getting me pregnant at fifteen?" She forced Troy's arms away from her body and leaped out of bed.

"Brie, listen...I admit, I was thinking about you, but I didn't touch you in any way I shouldn't be."

"You were thinking about what, sleeping with me?"

"Well...uh...yeah..." Troy replied as he ran his hand through his tousled hair.

Gabriella snatched one of her thick, fluffy pillows and used it to slap Troy in the face. "You idiot! There is no way I'm sleeping with you right now, so don't even bother to dream about it. Now get out of my house."

"But-"

"Get. Out. And for your information, I'm not speaking to you, you fucking pervert."

Troy rolled out of bed, his mouth hanging open in shock. Gabriella _never_ had used even a remotely inappropriate word when speaking to or about _anyone_ and now she was using dirty language with him? _She must really be angry. No wait, she must be beyond angry._

Gabriella threw Troy's top and pants at him. "Get dressed and get out of here. I'm taking a shower now and the door will be _locked_, so don't even bother to try to peek at me. And if you're still here when I get out of that bathroom, you're gonna get it worse than I've already given it to you."

"Brie-"

"Get out of my life," Gabriella snapped before heading into her bathroom, slamming the door, and pushing the button to lock it. After quickly stripping her clothes off, she grabbed a fluffy towel, wrapped it around her body, and poked her head out of the door. Hurling Troy's shirt that she had been wearing to sleep in at him, she said, "Here's your freaking shirt. I have no use for it anymore since we're no longer dating."

"Can we just-"

"No!"

"But-"

Gabriella stepped out of the bathroom, stomped over to Troy, and slapped him just underneath his shoulder. Hard. "I told you to get out of my house!" she screamed, her face growing red with rage.

"We need to talk, Brie. I don't want-" Troy attempted, rubbing the sore spot on his arm.

Gabriella cut Troy off by returning to the bathroom and closing the door once more. Letting her towel drop to the ground, she stepped into the shower and roughly washed herself. When she was finished, she dried off, fastened her towel around her again, and walked into her room, relieved that there was no sign of Troy. Walking over to her closet, she took out a pair of dark wash jeans, a pale purple top, and white flats. She would've chosen a blue shirt, but at that moment, she didn't want to be wearing a reminder of Troy's eyes. After getting dressed, she did her hair and make-up, made sure she had all her school things together, ate a quick breakfast, and headed to the bus stop.

"Brie, can you please talk to me?" Troy requested.

Gabriella refused to even meet her former best friend and boyfriend's eye.

"Brie?"

"Leave me alone," snapped Gabriella, folding her arms over her chest and scowling.

Troy was about to say more, but just as he opened his mouth, the bus pulled up. When he and Gabriella stepped onto it, he couldn't help notice that she chose a seat in the very back only after witnessing him select a spot at the front. Sighing, he told himself, _I really messed it up this time. Brie's never going to have anything to do with me again._

* * *

"Hey, why aren't you with Troy? And why do you seem angry?" inquired Sharpay as she followed her friend, who was moving at a very brisk pace, to the long wall of lockers.

Gabriella continued walking, one hand clutching her geography textbook and the other holding onto the strap of her school bag, which was hoisted up onto her shoulder. "Don't mention that idiot's name to me."

"What happened?" Sharpay demanded.

Wheeling around, Gabriella let out a deep sigh. "Troy wants to sleep with me," she revealed, her voice hushed so as not to allow the other students that were nearby to hear what she was saying.

Sharpay brought her hand to her mouth as she gasped. "He wants to sleep with you?" she burst out.

"Shhh! Not so loud, Sharpay!" Gabriella shushed as she took note of a group of juniors staring at the two of them.

"Sorry." Instantly dropping her voice, Sharpay asked, "Why?"

Gabriella shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. He seemed to get the idea completely out of the air. Since he was hurt, I told him he could stay the night at my house. When we sleep over at one another's houses, we always share a bed just because that's what we've been doing since we were eight and-"

"And then he undressed you?"

"No, Shar! It wasn't _that _dramatic. If he had taken off my clothes, I would've literally murdered him. What happened is that when I woke up this morning, I felt Troy's hard...you know...against my leg. I woke him up right away and I kind of accused him of feeling me up while I was asleep. Then, he insisted he didn't, but he did say that he had been thinking about sleeping with me."

"Did you kick him where it hurts?"

"No, I hit him in the face with a pillow, called him an idiot and a pervert, and screamed at him to get out of my house and out of my life. When he kept bugging me to talk it over with him, I smacked his arm. Then I went to take a shower and I guess he must have left while I was in the bathroom because by the time I came out, he was gone."

"Wow," remarked Sharpay.

"What's going on?" Kelsi wondered as she approached Gabriella and Sharpay with Ryan right by her side, their hands connected.

"Could I talk to you about it alone, like, without Ryan here?" Gabriella requested. "It's kind of something a guy wouldn't understand."

"Sure." Turning to her boyfriend, Kelsi said, "I'll be back."

Gabriella led Kelsi a few feet away from Sharpay and Ryan and repeated what she had explained before.

"I remember when Ryan did that to me," Kelsi spoke. "I was so mad and refused to talk to him for three weeks. I don't know why guys seem to be really interested in sleeping with their girlfriends. It must be some kind of instinct or something."

"Did he annoy you for the three weeks you ignored him?"

"Oh, definitely. I had to tell him off about six or seven times for the first week and a half, but then he figured that I wouldn't talk to him until I was ready, so he just left me alone."

"What made you decide to talk to him again?"

"He put an "I'm sorry" card in my locker and wrote inside it how he was so sorry for making me uncomfortable and that he had a present for me. When I found him, he gave me two new piano books." Kelsi loved music and had been playing the piano since she was only six years old. "Then he invited me to his house to watch a movie of my choice and to eat strawberry iced cake, which he hates, but I love."

"Do you think Troy will do something like that to me eventually?" Gabriella asked.

"Oh, I'm positive he will. It's clear that you two really like each other, so I doubt he's just gonna let you go. Just keep ignoring him and telling him off and eventually, he'll get it through his head that he has to make it up to you somehow."

* * *

Troy, Jason, and Ryan sat in their literature class waiting for the bell to ring, giving the signal that it was time for class to start. All day, Troy had been longing to tell his friends about what had happened with Gabriella that morning, but the girls had always been right near them, Gabriella making sure to keep as far away from his as she could without leaving her friends and not respond to anything he said. "Hey, guys," he began, "Do you think it's stupid to think about sleeping with your girlfriend?"

"No way," Ryan answered. "I think about it a lot, actually."

"Sleeping with your girlfriend? Do you mean like-" Jason said, only to be cut off by Troy.

"Yes, I mean like sleeping together, sleeping together." Troy groaned. Why couldn't Jason be even just a little bit smarter?

"Oh, well then, I think about that a lot, too."

"Did Kelsi or Martha ever find out about it and come close to completely murdering you?" inquired Troy.

"Definitely. When Kelsi found out, she refused to talk to me for three whole weeks, but not until she screamed at me for about half an hour. I know you probably can't picture Kelsi losing her temper too much, but believe me, she was _furious_ when she found out what I was thinking," answered Ryan.

"Martha smacked me in the arm and told me she wasn't going to the homecoming dance with me anymore. And she didn't go. She had gotten a dress and shoes and everything and she just backed out all because she found out I what I was thinking," Jason responded.

"Gabriella hit my arm, too," Troy said. "I don't see what the big deal was. It wasn't like I was asking her to sleep with me, I was just _thinking_ about it."

"How did she find out?" Ryan wondered.

"Well, last night she told me I could stay overnight at her house. So I did, and she was only wearing my shirt to bed and I started thinking about that if I pulled the covers back, I would probably be able to see her underwear, and then my mind just kind of wandered from there and before I knew it, I was hard and I must've stayed hard for the whole night because I woke up to Gabriella shaking me and accusing me of doing stuff to her while she was asleep because she felt that I was really hard," explained Troy. "Eventually, she got me to admit that I was thinking about her-though I didn't do anything to her-and when that happened, she smacked me in the face with a pillow and started screaming at me to get out of her house and out of her life. When I kept trying to talk about it with her, she hit me in the arm."

"Dude, I think she wants to sleep with you, too," Jason concluded. "If she was only wearing your shirt to bed, she had to know she would get you thinking."

"Then why did she get so mad about me thinking of sleeping with her?"

"She was probably more mad at herself," Ryan suggested. "I know that something like this happened with me and Kelsi before, but it actually was my fault because Kelsi never wore anything that suggested she wanted to sleep with me."

"So I _am_ right! This fight we're having _is_ Gabriella's fault!"

"I would say so," Ryan agreed.

"Wait, what are we talking about again?" Jason asked.

"Gabriella getting mad at Troy for thinking about sleeping with her," replied Ryan, irritation heavy in his voice.

"Oh, yeah."

_Ring!_

"Alright, class, it's time to start," Mrs. Hopkins, the literature teacher, announced as she pulled a book out of her desk.

* * *

"Hey, Brie, are you gonna apologize to me?" Troy inquired when he met up with Gabriella on his to the cafeteria.

"_Me_ apologize to _you_? For what? I'm not the one that was thinking dirty things about you," spat Gabriella, wheeling around and walking in the opposite direction, anger clear on her face.

Troy followed Gabriella. "Ryan and Jason said that since you were wearing my shirt and only my shirt to bed, that meant that you wanted to sleep with me and that when I got hard, you were more mad at yourself for enticing me to think of sleeping with you than you were at me."

Gabriella's glare rested on Troy. "I was wearing your shirt because that's what I always wear to bed and it comes down to almost my knees," she growled. "I thought I had the right to feel comfortable wearing that in front of my boyfriend and best friend, but according to you, I was wrong."

"Exactly."

"It'll be a long time before I speak with you again." Slapping Troy's arm, Gabriella rushed to the bathroom, tears beginning to flow out of her chocolate eyes.

Speechless, Troy just stared after Gabriella before shaking his head in disbelief and heading toward the cafeteria.

"Where's Gabriella?" Taylor wanted to know.

"In the bathroom crying," Troy answered.

"What did you do to her now, you idiot?" demanded Taylor, who had heard all about that morning's events from Gabriella.

"I asked her when she was gonna apologize to me."

"You think _she _should apologize to _you?_" Sharpay was incredulous. "After what Gabriella told me, I think you should be the one saying sorry to her."

"But she wore only his shirt to bed last night, so she was just asking for him to get...uh...excited," Ryan protested. "It's not his fault at all."

"Typical guys," Kelsi muttered under her breath. "Always looking for an excuse to blame the girl." Aloud, she said, "Troy, I can't believe you actually listened to the guys. They're not as smart as you think." Looking at her boyfriend, she added, "No offense, Ryan."

"Offense taken, but it's okay," Ryan responded. "I'll let it go this time."

"Gabriella told me what happened, and I think it's your fault," Martha remarked.

"How? I can't help it! I'm a guy!"

"Well, we girls are moving to a different table, seeing as you guys are being idiots," announced Taylor, picking up her tray of food and standing up. The other girls followed her to a vacant table.

"I don't see what I did!" Troy cried.

"Don't tell Sharpay, but I've thought about her like that, too," Zeke revealed. "And I dread the day she finds out because she can really be temperamental and dramatic. She probably would have me dead within seconds-literally."

"I feel bad for you, dude. Gabriella's challenging enough for me."

* * *

"Troy, where's Gabriella?" Jack inquired at the dinner table that evening. "I thought she was coming over to eat with us tonight."

"We're fighting," Troy replied bitterly.

"Fighting?" repeated Lucille. "About what?"

"Just...something." Turning to Jack, he took a deep breath and asked, "Dad, could I talk about it with you?"

"Right now?"

"Yeah," answered Troy.

"Sure. Let's go up to your room."

Lucille watched curiously as her husband and son headed upstairs.

After he and Jack entered his room and took a seat on his bed, Troy began to speak. "Please don't get mad at me for this, but last night Gabriella was wearing my shirt to bed and nothing else and...and I...I...well, I started thinking about...you know..."

"Sleeping with her?" Jack suggested.

Troy's eyes shifted toward the ground as he fidgeted nervously. "Yeah," he admitted in a quiet tone.

"Did you tell her you were thinking about that?"

"Well, I didn't want to, but she kind of forced me into it. You see, when I was thinking about her I kind of got...you know...hard...and when I woke up, I was still hard and she noticed and started accusing me of things until she got me to admit that I was thinking about her."

Jack let out a sigh. "I knew this day would eventually come. And I'm very happy you decided to talk to me about this. I'm not angry or upset with you at all. It's perfectly normal for guys your age to think like this. I used to do it myself."

"Is it my fault that we're in a fight now?"

"No, it's not, but it's not Gabriella's fault, either. It's just one of those things that you can't control, but I think you should still apologize and make it up to Gabriella for causing her to feel uncomfortable. And if you apologize, she might apologize to you for getting mad, too."

"Okay, Dad. Thanks." Troy smiled.

"And one more thing: I don't mind if you think about sleeping with Gabriella, but please don't try to do it for a while yet. I would prefer you waited until you were married or at least out of college to do it, but if you and Gabriella really feel the need earlier, like before you're adults, come talk to me about it before you do anything because there's some things we need to discuss."

"Like what?"

"Like protection and some of what'll happen because girls are more complicated than we are. It actually can hurt them the first time, but you don't need to know all about that now," said Jack. "But if you and Gabriella talk about it eventually and really, really can't possibly wait any longer to try it, you'll need to hear about all that. I would, however, like you to be at least in your junior year if you're going to try it before you're an adult."

"Don't worry, Dad. I don't think me and Gabriella will be talking about that for a long time. If we do talk about it someday, though, I'll make sure to let you know," Troy assured.

"Alright. Is there anything else you need to talk about with me?"

"No, that's all."

"Okay. Well, then, let's go finish our dinner."

* * *

Two weeks had gone by since Gabriella had stopped speaking to Troy. After his talk with his dad, Troy had decided to leave her alone for a little while before he tried to apologize to her. For one, that was to give her time to cool off a bit, and for two, it was to give him time to think of something special to do for her.

With a pounding heart, Troy headed down his driveway, a bouquet of roses in one hand and a card in the other. It was Valentine's Day, which he felt was the perfect day to try to smooth things out with Gabriella. When he reached the door of her house, he knocked with a trembling hand and waited for someone to answer.

"Hey, Troy! How are you doing?" David greeted with a smile. "Come on in! You haven't been around here lately."

Troy stepped inside the building. "Yeah, well, we kind of had a little disagreement. I was just coming to try to fix things."

"Oh, okay." David sounded puzzled. "Well, Gabriella's in her room if you want to go up and see her."

"Thanks, Mr. Montez," Troy responded before heading up the steps, his heart thudding louder and louder each time he set his foot down. When he reached Gabriella's door, he paused for what seemed like days before taking a deep breath and rapping lightly on the door.

"Come in," called Gabriella's sweet, clear voice.

Troy cautiously turned the doorknob and let himself into the room, closing the door behind him.

Gabriella's expression grew cold and unwelcoming when she realized that the visitor was not her father, as she had expected, or Taylor, Sharpay, Martha, or Kelsi coming around to hang out with her. It was Troy.

"Brie, I know I'm the last person you want to talk to right now, but I just had to come." Troy's words came out in a rush. "I'm really, really sorry, and I want you to know that. If you don't want to say anything to me, fine, but please take your Valentine's Day present." He placed the card and the roses in front of Gabriella, who was sitting on her bed.

Gabriella shot Troy a curious look before tearing the envelope open and removing the card. On the front, it read, _Happy Valentine's Day._ Simple and sweet. No sign of him trying to force her to take him back or clearly indicating whether or not they were together. Opening it, she saw a note. It read:

_Brie,_

_I'm so, so sorry. I really didn't want to make you angry with me or uncomfortable and I'm even more sorry for blaming you for the whole thing. I promise I'm not going to force you into anything. I don't want to sleep with you if you aren't ready and to tell you the truth, I don't think I'm exactly ready, either. I know you might not want to say anything to me, but I just want you to know that I'm always here and that I'm sorry. Happy Valentine's Day!_

_Again, I'm sorry,_

_Troy_

Next, Gabriella picked up the roses and brought them to her nose. They smelled so sweet and fresh, and there were so many of them. Troy must have spent at least fifteen dollars on that bouquet. Her eyes filling with happy tears, she slowly climbed off her bed, a smile playing on her lips, and wrapped her arms around Troy's waist. "I'm sorry, too, Troy. I shouldn't have acted the way I acted. I guess I just got scared because I don't really have much experience with guys, but still, it wasn't an excuse for hitting and screaming at you."

Relief washed over Troy as he embraced Gabriella in return. "It's okay. I'm not mad at you for any of that anymore."

After a long time of just standing there in Troy's arms, Gabriella brought her face up and asked, "Can you kiss me?"

"Of course," smiled Troy, leaning down to connect his lips with Gabriella's. When they broke apart, he said, "Happy Valentine's Day, princess."

"Happy Valentine's Day, Wildcat."

* * *

**Happy Independence Day, everyone! Hope you have a great holiday! Do you think you can hit 300 reviews with this chapter? If you do, I promise lots of fluff in the next chapter:)**


	27. Freshman's Dance

It was a chilly February evening not too long after Valentine's Day. The sun had set just an hour before and the crescent moon was hanging low in the cloudy sky. In the gym at East High, tables were set up with food and beverages and excited ninth graders were arriving in groups.

That night was the night of the freshman dance.

Holding each other's hands, Troy and Gabriella walked through the doors of the school. Since it was just a casual dance, Troy was wearing his only pair of jeans that weren't ripped and a Wildcats t-shirt along with his sneakers. Gabriella had on dark wash skinny jeans, silver flats, and a pale blue cami covered with a dark blue cropped sweater. Her hair was back in a high, curly ponytail.

Ever since their argument, Troy and Gabriella's relationship had strengthened. Instead of giving each other a simple kiss good night, they would make out, sometimes to the point where they could no longer breathe. When watching TV, Gabriella would wrap both her arms around Troy's waist and rest her cheek on his shoulder while one of his arms firmly gripped her shoulders and his free hand stroked her hair. Every once in a while, she would gaze up at him with pleading eyes and he would place a soft kiss onto her lips and hold her a bit closer. That's another thing that had changed-the expression in their eyes. A passionate emotion scintillated in them whenever they looked at one another. Even the one time when they had went through a slight disagreement, their eyes didn't match their tone of voice. Troy and Gabriella had fallen in love.

Although the two teenagers hadn't quite realized that what they were feeling toward one another was true love, they had definitely displayed it by the new nicknames they had given to one another. Troy had began to refer to Gabriella as his "baby girl" and his "sweetheart" while Gabriella had started calling Troy things such as "honey" and "sweet Troy."

"Brie," Troy spoke as he and Gabriella entered the gym, "Do you want to sit down with me?" He motioned toward a small bench that was sitting against the wall.

"Sure." Gabriella allowed Troy to lead her over to the bench. After he sat down, she took the spot next to him and cuddled into his side.

"Did I tell you that you look beautiful tonight?" Troy inquired.

"Yes," Gabriella replied with a smile.

After a moment of silence, Troy asked, "Who's house are we sleeping at, mine or yours?"

"I was thinking mine since the other night we slept over at yours."

"That sounds good."

Another pause passed between Troy and Gabriella in which Gabriella rested her head on her boyfriend's shoulder and Troy took her small fingers in his larger ones.

"Awwww!"

Both Troy and Gabriella looked up to see Sharpay standing in front of them with a camera.

"Look how cute you guys are!" exclaimed Sharpay as she practically threw the camera into her friends' faces. "This picture is so going in my photo album. It's just so adorable!"

"I'm glad we can be such an exciting part of your picture collection," Troy remarked without enthusiasm. Then, catching sight of Ryan with his arms folded over his chest and a frown on his face, he called out, "Hey, what's up?"

"The Porsche broke down so we had to take the Corvette here," mumbled Ryan. "The Porsche is so much more comfortable and we just took it to the car wash yesterday. The Corvette hasn't been cleaned in a week and the seatbelts are really irritating."

"You know, I would be glad just to _have_ both a Porsche and a Corvette."

"Well, you're not me. And just so you know, we also have a Ferrari, but my mom was taking that out shopping when we were ready to leave, so we couldn't use it. Oh, and we have two Bentleys for when me and Sharpay turn sixteen."

Troy's jaw dropped in shock.

"Ryan, shut up!" Sharpay smacked her brother's arm. "Stop bragging and complaining. It's no big deal that we couldn't take the car you wanted to take."

"Do you really have all those cars?" Gabriella wondered.

Sharpay nodded. "Yeah. Our house is huge, so we have three double garages. You should come over sometime, like next weekend. We have an indoor pool, so we could go swimming. What do you think?"

"Sounds good! Can Troy come?"

"Yup! I'll also invite Taylor, Kelsi, Martha, Jason, and, of course, Zekey." Zekey was Sharpay's new nickname for Zeke.

"Invite me where?" Kelsi's voice sounded from behind Sharpay.

"Kelsi!" shouted Sharpay, wheeling around to hug her friend. "I was talking about inviting you to my house to go swimming next weekend."

"That sounds like a lot of fun! I have to go buy a new bathing suit. The strap on the one I used last summer is half-broken. Do you want to come shopping with me tomorrow?"

"Do I? Of course I do!" Sharpay turned toward Gabriella. "You wanna come?"

"I don't really need a new bathing suit, but I guess I'll come along," shrugged Gabriella.

"Alright, great! You can meet us at the mall at three o' clock."

"So you're gonna leave me?" Troy pretended to be mad.

"Of course not, honey." Gabriella brushed some of Troy's hair out of his face and kissed his forehead. "Well, I am, but not for long. It'll only be for a couple hours. When I get back, I'll come right over and we can watch a movie."

"Your choice or my choice?"

"Your choice."

"Thanks, baby girl." Pulling his girlfriend into a tight embrace, Troy pressed a kiss into her dark curls before resting his head on top of hers and allowing himself to lovingly rub her arm and shoulder.

Gabriella let out a sigh that displayed she was comfortable with Troy's affectionate action.

"Awww, look at you two!" exclaimed Taylor as she entered the gym and found her friends. "Gabriella, you and Troy are so cute together."

"Hey, Tay! I got a pic of them!" Sharpay announced, taking her camera from her purse and showing the photo she had snapped of Troy and Gabriella to Taylor. "Isn't it just so adorable?"

"Yeah," Taylor smiled.

Suddenly, Sharpay caught sight of a tall guy with a dark complexion and short, black hair. "Zekey!" she shouted, running over to her boyfriend and hugging him tightly. "I was starting to think you were never gonna come!"

Zeke laughed. "I'm only five minutes late, Shar."

"Five minutes is too long," pouted Sharpay.

"Are Martha and Jason coming?" Kelsi inquired.

Troy shook his head. "No. Jason said they had plans to go to a basketball game."

Kelsi nodded in acknowledgement.

"So, Brie, do you wanna dance?" Troy asked as he turned toward Gabriella, who was still snuggled right up against him.

"Of course." Smiling, Gabriella stood up and walked with Troy to the middle of the dance floor. However, after dancing for only a few seconds, the young couple found themselves in a passionate kiss, their arms tightly wrapped around one another's waists and their tongues slipping into each other's mouths.

"Baby girl..." Troy breathed when the kiss was finally over.

Gabriella couldn't do anything except cuddle against Troy's chest and keep her grip on him.

Touching his lips to the top of her head, Troy gently lifted Gabriella off the ground and took her over to the bench they had been sitting on before they'd decided to dance. Or, actually, stand in the middle of the floor and kiss. After placing his girlfriend on the seat, Troy said, "I'll be right back." He then wandered over to the food table, grabbed two cups, and filled one with ice water and the other with soda. When that task was finished, he found a plate and laid two pizza slices on it.

Seeing what Troy was doing, Gabriella rose from her spot and rushed over to help him. With his broken wrist, there was no way he was going to be able to carry two cups and a plate over to the bench. "Let me take something, Wildcat."

"No, it's fine, sweetheart. I'll just come back for whatever I can't get now," insisted Troy. "I want you to have a good night and not have to worry about getting food and stuff."

"Honey, you have a broken wrist. I'm helping whether you like it or not."

"Alright," agreed Troy reluctantly.

Gabriella took one of the cups and the plate and started heading back to her and Troy's seat. When Troy caught up to her, they sat down and began to eat. Almost as soon as they had finished, Gabriella called her dad to come pick them up, as they were both tired and wanted nothing more than to leave the dance early, go back to Gabriella's house, and cuddle up in bed.

Taking Gabriella's hand, Troy led her out of the gym and to the doors. There, they waited until David arrived to drive them home. When they got there, Gabriella walked with Troy to his house and waited while he got his things. The two of them then went to Gabriella's house and up to her room.

Troy and Gabriella brushed their teeth, then Gabriella changed in the bathroom while Troy got into something comfortable in his girlfriend's room.

"You ready?" Troy queried when Gabriella emerged from her bathroom.

Gabriella nodded as she climbed into bed. When Troy was lying beside her, she turned off the light next to her bed and connected her lips with her boyfriend's.

"Mmmm, Brie," Troy mumbled through the kiss.

"My sweet Troy." Gabriella slipped her tongue inside Troy's mouth.

As he sucked on her lower lip, Troy unconsciously permitted his hands to slide beneath Gabriella's top and travel up until he was almost touching her breasts.

"Wildcat." Pulling away from the kiss, Gabriella's looked into Troy's eyes.

Instantly, Troy realized what he was doing. "I'm so sorry, baby girl," he apologized, quickly taking his hands off of her.

"It's okay. I...I kind of liked it."

"It doesn't make you uncomfortable?"

Gabriella shook her head.

"You sure?"

Nodding, Gabriella cuddled closer to Troy. "Do it again, please."

Troy again slipped his hands under his girlfriend's shirt, this time letting them wander up to feel her breasts through the bra she had on as his lips met hers.

Finding the bottom of Troy's t-shirt, Gabriella allowed her hands to travel underneath it and feel her boyfriend's firm chest.

When they couldn't breathe anymore, the two teenagers broke apart and took their hands off each other. Troy then encased his girlfriend in his arms and kissed the top of her head.

Gabriella embraced Troy in return and cuddled into his chest. Letting out a small sigh, she closed her eyes and murmured, "Good night, Wildcat."

"Good night, baby girl," Troy yawned, clutching Gabriella just a little closer. Nuzzling his nose into her hair, he checked to be sure he was holding her securely enough before he allowed sleep to overtake him.

* * *

**Finally I got a chapter! My sweet 16 just passed, so I've been busy, but I finally had a chance to write:) Hope you enjoyed! Please review! Oh, and thank you SO MUCH for getting past 300 reviews! I got more on the last chapter than I've gotten on this story for one chapter in a long time!**


	28. Troyella

"Cannonball!" screamed Ryan as he jumped into the pool. When he came above the water, he said, "Wasn't that awesome, guys? Who wants to see me do it again?"

"Ryan, we invited our friends here to swim, not to watch you do cannonballs." Sharpay rolled her brown eyes, then submerged beneath the water and swam toward the shallow end, where Troy was sitting on the steps with Gabriella.

Leaning in, Troy connected his lips with Gabriella's as his fingers ran through her soaking wet curls. They had just had a swim race, and were currently taking a very delightful break.

"Mmmm, Troy," Gabriella mumbled through the kiss as she shoved her tongue into her boyfriend's mouth and allowed it to dance with his. Her arms made their way around his neck.

Troy's hands moved down to feel Gabriella's flat, bare stomach. He was glad that when she had gone shopping with her friends the other day, Sharpay had convinced her to buy a bikini because she sure looked good in one. When she had first removed the clothes she had put on over the swimsuit, Troy's jaw had dropped at the sight of her smooth, tanned skin covered by only a pale blue and white striped bikini.

"Hey, can you two stop making out and start paying attention?" Jason requested.

As the two teenagers pulled away from one another, Troy remarked, "Well, you're one to talk."

Jason's lips parted as if he were going to speak, but then thought better of it and closed it. Shrugging in a clueless way, he dove underwater.

As Troy touched his lips hungrily to Gabriella's again, his hands wandered up until they were caressing her breasts.

"Um, Troy, Gabriella," Martha began, "I don't mean to sound rude, but I think Jason was right. We don't exactly want to watch you making out, especially when you're touching like that."

With red faces, Troy and Gabriella broke apart and started to swim toward the deep part of the pool. When they reached it, they held onto the edge and came up above the water, their breathing heavy. Neither one of them had swam in a while, and because they had moved across the pool pretty quickly, they felt like they needed a break.

"Sharpay," Gabriella called to her friend, who wasn't too far away from her and Troy.

"Yeah?" Sharpay responded.

"I think Troy and I are gonna get out for a little break now." Gabriella reached out with her leg so that she could put her foot on one of the nearby steps.

"Alright. There's a hot tub in the room next door if you want to sit in there for a little bit."

"Okay. Thanks, Shar." Turning to Troy, Gabriella asked, "Can we go in the hot tub?"

"Sure, Brie." Slipping his hand into hers, Troy walked up the steps and into the room that was adjoined to the room the pool was in. Sure enough, there was a bubbling hot tub situated right in the center of it. Still holding her hand, Troy led Gabriella into it.

"This feels so good," sighed Gabriella as she lowered herself beside Troy and, resting her cheek on his shoulder, snuggled into his side and closed her eyes.

"This feels even better." Troy put his hand under Gabriella's chin and turned her face toward hers. His lips then came crashing down on hers, his moist tongue sliding into her mouth.

"Definitely." Gabriella's fingers glided over Troy's firm chest and stomach, making sure she was feeling every detail of his well defined muscles.

As his hands massaged Gabriella's small breasts, Troy felt himself harden at the images that came to his mind. Because they used to be comfortable stripping completely naked in front of one another before they had gotten together, he could very well picture what her breasts looked like. Oh, the advantages of being best friends with your girlfriend before going out with her.

"Wildcat?" questioned Gabriella when she and Troy finished their kiss and she noticed the bulge in his swim shorts. "Did I...did I...well, I was just wondering..." She broke off as her cheeks grew hot.

"Did you what? Sweetheart, don't be afraid of asking me questions. Nothing you want to know could be too stupid or silly for me."

Gabriella swallowed her nervousness. "I was just wondering, did I...did I do that to you?" She looked at the lump in her boyfriend's swim shorts.

Troy lifted Gabriella onto his lap and placed a kiss into her curls. "Yes, baby girl, you did." He nuzzled her shoulder.

"Does that mean...um...we don't have to...you don't expect me to...uh...sleep with you, do you?"

"Of course not. Brie, we're only fifteen. I want to be a little older, maybe even married or at least engaged, before we do anything like that together, but in the meantime, it's okay to make out and touch." Troy laced his fingers with Gabriella's and let his chin lean against the top of her shoulder. "That is, as long as you're comfortable about what we're doing."

Gabriella had tuned out after she had heard the words "married" and "we" in the same sentence. Shifting around so she could turn her face toward Troy, she softly repeated, "Married?"

"Yeah, baby girl, why? Is there something wrong with..." Troy trailed off as he realized what he had implied. He had basically told his girlfriend that he was planning to marry her someday. "Oh, I get what you're talking about."

"We're gonna get married?" Gabriella ventured cautiously.

"So far I don't see myself having my wedding with any other girl."

"You mean, you're gonna propose to me someday?" Gabriella's chocolate eyes were glittering. If she and Troy's relationship wasn't the definition of young love, then nothing was.

"Honestly, I've thought about that every night for the past week before I've fallen asleep. I've thought about proposing, having a wedding, and being with you forever."

Gabriella let out a sigh. "To tell you the truth, I've kind of been thinking and wondering about that, too. I even imagine living with you in a house and having little Troyellas running around." She giggled.

"Troyella?" questioned Troy. "Oh, don't get ideas from that movie." He affectionately nudged her shoulder with his nose.

"What? I like couple names." Another giggle escaped Gabriella's lips.

"I actually like that, too. It makes us seem more...I don't know...official. I mean, the _High School Musical _and _Troyella Forever _movies annoy me, but with us, that name sounds a lot better."

"Alright, well, then, we're Troyella." A satisfied smile crossed Gabriella's face as she reached up to kiss Troy's lips.

Returning the kiss, Troy hugged his girlfriend close to him. "My Brie..." he breathed when they pulled apart.

Gabriella nuzzled her nose against Troy's to show him how much she'd loved him calling her by that name.

"Hey, can we come in?"

Kelsi's voice caused Troy and Gabriella to jump. Turning, they saw that she was standing in front of the hot tub along with Ryan.

"Sure," Gabriella answered. "There's plenty of room."

Kelsi and Ryan stepped into the hot tub and sat themselves down across from Troy and Gabriella.

"You missed my twist jump," Ryan told his friends. "I did it so good!"

"Ryan, be quiet," scolded Kelsi. "The reason we left the pool to come into the hot tub is that you were bragging and showing off too much, so I decided that it would be good to get away from most of the excitement and relax."

"I've never heard of Ryan relaxing," giggled Gabriella.

"Neither did I, but hey, it's always worth a try, right?"

"Definitely." As Gabriella spoke that word, the two girls laughed.

* * *

It was eight o' clock by the time Troy and Gabriella got home. As was their usual habit on Saturday nights, they were planning to have a sleepover. This time it was to be held at Troy's house.

"Troy, you know, I just thought of something. Were you supposed to be swimming with that cast on your wrist?" asked Gabriella as she walked over to sit beside Troy on his bed.

"Oh, yeah! I brought a plastic bag to put around it like I have to do in the shower, but I just never used it. I guess I was too caught up in that kissing we were doing." He smiled at Gabriella and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"Well, I hope it doesn't affect the cast too much. Oh, and speaking of which, when are you getting it off?"

"I don't think one time of getting it wet will damage it." Troy shrugged. "And I only have two and half more weeks with it. It'll be off by the final playoff game, so hopefully I'll be able to play in that. If not, and we make it to the championship, then I'll definitely be able to be part of that. I just hope I didn't lose any of my skills with being hurt and all."

"I'm sure you didn't," Gabriella assured.

"So," started Troy, "What do you say we go downstairs and get some chips and French onion dip?" French onion dip was Gabriella's favorite flavor dip. Troy, however, wasn't a huge fan of it.

"Did you get that just for me?"

"Yup! I went with my dad to the grocery store the other day and he asked what kind of dip I wanted to go with the chips, and I said French onion because I know you like it."

"Awww, so you'll eat your chips plain for me?" A giggle came from Gabriella's mouth.

"Brie, I'd do _anything_ for you," Troy responded. However, he wasn't smiling or laughing like he was playing along with the amusing feel Gabriella's words had had. He was most definitely serious.

* * *

**Okay, guys, I know this chapter is short, and I'm really sorry. I'm hoping the next one will turn out longer. Also, I have an important announcement to make. There's this really stupid club called Order of the Concritters that's here on FF. They go around threatening and reporting people and when they're leaving a review that's not a threat to report, they're saying the story is "dumb" or "boring" in those exact words. Anyway, they've just recently moved into the HSM fandom and one member said that he/she (not sure if it's a guy or girl, kind of hard to tell by their pen name) was reporting my M-rated Troyella oneshots:'( I'm hoping they won't get deleted and I won't get banned, but if worst comes to worst, I saved them on my computer and if they do get removed, I'll consider making a livejournal or something so I can post them on there for you guys to read. I know it won't be as good as having them right here on fanfic, but at least it's something, right? I'm really sad that all the kind reviews on those will be gone as well. If I get banned, I won't be able to update for a little while, but I promise to still work on my stories/chapters during that time (if it happens). I'm hoping this stupid club doesn't attack any of my other fics because I don't have them saved on my computer and I also hope they don't attack any of you guys or any stories either I or you read. **

**Thanks for putting up with the long A/N! Just to tell you, this story will have it's one year anniversary on July 31! I hoped to be farther along by the one year point, but at least I got past chapter 10. LOL. Please review:)**


	29. Final Playoff Game

"Mmmm, Troy," mumbled Gabriella as she felt Troy's tongue slip into her mouth. It was the day before the final playoff game. Troy had just gotten the cast taken off his wrist that afternoon, but was instructed to go easy on it for the next week, which meant that he wouldn't play in the upcoming game, but, if the Wildcats conquered the West High Knights, he would have a chance to play in the championship. After Troy and Gabriella's excitement about Troy playing again died down a little, they had decided to work on their homework Troy's house, which had turned into making out.

Troy moaned as he felt Gabriella's hands touch his chest firmly, yet lovingly. Pulling away from her, he fought to catch his breath as he yanked his t-shirt over his head so it was easier for her to touch him.

Gently pushing Troy onto his bed, Gabriella laid on top of him and, after gasping for air, connected her lips with his once more.

"Mmmm," groaned Troy at the feeling of his girlfriend sucking on his lower lip. His hands found their way beneath her top and his fingers began to explore her body.

Gabriella smiled at Troy's content sound and kept his lip between hers, her tongue swiping across it, until they broke apart.

Before he crashed his lips down on Gabriella's for what was probably the hundredth time that evening, Troy hesitantly touched the bottom of Gabriella's shirt and looked at her questioningly.

"Go ahead," Gabriella told Troy.

After struggling to take off Gabriella's shirt, as he had never done anything like that before, Troy put one of his hands on her breasts as he drew her into another kiss. When they pulled apart, he cautiously and hesitantly allowed his hands to travel to her bra clasp. "Brie, uh...I'm really curious and...um...I won't take anything else off after this, but I uh...I was just wondering what your breasts feel like."

"You can take it off," decided Gabriella.

Troy's fingers fumbled to unhook the piece of clothing for a minute before he succeeded. When he did, he watched as Gabriella's bra slowly fell away. Taking his thumb, he carefully placed it on one of her nipples and began to gently rub, marveling at the feeling of the soft, delicate skin. As he felt her nipple harden beneath his touch, his mouth fell open in amazement, causing him to look Gabriella in the eye.

Letting out a giggle, Gabriella said, "Yeah, that'll happen, Wildcat. It means I like what you're doing, kind of...uh...kind of like...um...like you're hard now." She blushed as she noticed the bulge in her boyfriend's pants.

Troy smiled as he felt Gabriella's other nipple, earning the same reaction from her body as before, then leaned in to kiss her lips.

As her tongue danced with Troy's, Gabriella touched his abs. The firmness of them made her go crazy. She was so lucky to have a boyfriend that was sweet, cute, _and_ had a hot body.

Placing one hand over each of Gabriella's breasts, Troy deepened the kiss until he could no longer breathe. He then slowly broke the kiss and sat down with his legs apart, inviting Gabriella to seat herself in the space between them.

With a smile, Gabriella readily accepted Troy's invitation. Leaning back against his chest, she let out an exhausted sigh and closed her eyes.

"I know, baby girl, I'm tired, too. Making out can be a lot of work." Troy fastened his arms around Gabriella's waist.

"But it's worth the work because it's so much fun."

"Yeah," agreed Troy, lifting Gabriella up, straightening out his legs, and placing her on top of them so that she was facing him and straddling his waist. "Especially when I get to see you like this." He slowly moved his lips down to touch her delicate nipple.

"Hey!" Gabriella playfully smacked Troy's arm as she giggled at the ticklish feeling of him kissing her breast.

"What?"

"Just kidding. I like it as much as you do." She smiled and again let out a giggle. "Now, how about you let me get my shirt back on and then we can continue with homework. You can stay like that, though."

"Why can't I look at you anymore but you can still look at me? It doesn't seem fair that only you have to put your clothes back on."

"Troy, you're a guy. If one of your parents comes to the door, it won't matter if you're not wearing a shirt, but it will if I'm not."

"But Brie, the door's shut and my parents don't come in without knocking! Anyway, they're outside looking at the garden now."

"Nice try, honey, but you're not getting what you want this time. You won't concentrate on homework if I'm half naked." Gabriella climbed off Troy and put her bra and top back on.

"You're so unfair, sweetheart," Troy pouted as he walked over to Gabriella, lifted her into his arms, and held her like a toddler. Kissing her cheek, he sat down at the desk in his room and placed her in his lap. "But to make up for it, you can cuddle in my lap while we do homework." He kissed the top of her head and wrapped one arm around her waist. Opening his geography textbook with his free hand, he began to read about where the capital of Egypt was and what landmarks were located there.

"Can I see the page, too?" Gabriella requested.

Troy slid the book over a little so that it was in Gabriella's view. However, instead of continuing to read, he asked, "Do you want a foot massage?"

Gabriella laughed harder than she had laughed in a long time. By the time she had recovered from her laughter, tears were dripping down her face. "May I ask what a foot massage has to do with Egypt, my sweet Troy?"

"Nothing. I just keep feeling your cute little feet against my leg and it's making me want to rub them."

"Well, that's just gonna have to wait, Troy. We've spent enough time on making out. If we don't get to work now, we'll never going to be done in time for me to go home."

"Can't you spend the night?"

Gabriella shook her head sadly. "No, my dad said he wants me at home and sleeping by myself tonight. He thinks we've been having too many sleepovers lately." Troy and Gabriella had had sleepovers for the past week straight.

"If you're not staying, can I just rub your feet now?"

"Troy, concentrate." Gabriella pointed to the page on the textbook that they were supposed to be reading. "I'm already on your lap, I don't know how much more you want."

"I wanna give you a foot massage, I wanna kiss your nose, I wanna cuddle you, I wanna make out again..."

"You are cuddling me."

"Yeah, but I want to cuddle you better than I am now." Troy nuzzled Gabriella's shoulder and pressed a kiss onto her cheek.

"Now I think you're just making excuses so you don't have to study."

"But I am studying! I'm doing an experiment for human behavior. It's called, 'How will my girlfriend respond to me spoiling her with attention?'"

Gabriella giggled. "Troy, you're not even taking a human behavior class. Now I _know_ you're just making excuses."

Lifting Gabriella over his shoulder, Troy carried her to his bed, laid her down, and began ticking her furiously.

"Troy, stop!" Gabriella begged through her giggles.

"I don't think so." With a smile on his face, Troy pressed his nose against Gabriella's and continued to run his fingers over her stomach.

"Wildcat!"

"Here's the deal: I'll only stop if you say that I can rub your feet and cuddle up in my bed with you before we keep doing homework."

"Fine," sighed Gabriella reluctantly.

Troy instantly stopped tickling his girlfriend, took both her hands in his, and helped her into a sitting position. He then picked her up and placed her against his pillows. Taking one of her feet in each of his hands, Troy lovingly rubbed them, making sure that his thumb swept over every one of her short toenails and over the edge of her toe. "You have such cute feet," he remarked.

"I'm glad you think so." Gabriella closed her eyes to relax. Although she knew that she and Troy should be working on their homework, she couldn't deny the fact that the feeling of Troy's hands on her feet was relaxing.

After massaging her feet for five minutes or so, Troy crawled up to where Gabriella was sitting and, sliding into the space next to her, pulled the blankets up and wrapped his arms around her waist. The second she laid her head on his chest, his fingers instinctively wound through her dark curls.

"Fifteen minutes, honey," Gabriella spoke in her sweet voice that she knew her boyfriend could never say "no" to.

"Huh?" Confusion was written all over Troy's face.

"Fifteen minutes," repeated Gabriella in the same tone of voice. "Wildcat, we still have tons of homework. As much as I love having this time to snuggle and bond more than we're already bonded, we really need to take this seriously and do our assignments."

"Fine, but then I'm sneaking into your room tonight to cuddle with you."

"I don't mind. I actually prefer sleeping with you than sleeping alone." As soon as the words left her mouth, Gabriella knew she had made a mistake. "I mean, not sleeping with you, sleeping with you," she added hurriedly.

"I knew what you meant, sweetheart." Troy laced his fingers with Gabriella's as he kissed her forehead.

"So maybe around eleven you can come up to my balcony door?"

"Sounds good. I'll definitely be there."

* * *

The next morning, which was a Friday (the Friday the final playoff game was to be held to be exact), came. At the sound of her irritating alarm, Gabriella rolled out of her boyfriend's arms and hit the button to turn it off.

"Do we have to get up?" asked Troy.

"I think you know the answer to that." Gabriella smiled at Troy and brushed some of his hair out of his face so she could press a kiss onto his forehead.

"We can't have just five more minutes?" Troy pleaded.

"Nope. Now I'm gonna go have a shower." Gabriella jumped out of bed and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

"Can I come?" Troy queried with a yawn.

Gabriella opened the door. "No, Wildcat. You have no reason to be in here while I'm in the shower. Now go home. I'll see you in a little bit."

"No hug?"

"Not after that stupid request you just made." A playful smile spread across Gabriella's face. "You'll just need to wait until it's time to go to the bus stop."

Troy shot out of bed and ran to the bathroom door, only to have it slammed in his face. Hearing Gabriella's giggle from behind the door, he said, "I'll get payback for this!"

"Oh, you think so?"

"I know so." Troy's eyes gleamed with playfulness.

"Well, then I'll be watching out for you!"

"You'd better!" Troy called as he stepped out the balcony door.

* * *

Troy and Gabriella watched intently as one of the Wildcats' team members stole the ball from a tall, dark-haired guy that was playing for the Knights. So far, it was in the third quarter of the game and the score was tied 20-20.

"W-I-L-D, go Wildcats!" screamed the cheerleaders as they waved their red and white pom-poms in the air.

The Wildcats' player, who appeared to be a junior, ran to the basket. However, just when he was about to shoot the ball into the basket, he slipped and fell. The referee blew the whistle and called for a time out.

"You okay?" Coach Welsh inquired as he quickly jogged over to the fallen team member.

"My ankle...it really hurts," the guy answered. "I...I think I sprained it."

Coach Welsh helped the junior to his feet. "Go ahead and sit down." When the guy was on the bench, he headed over to the referee and told him, "We don't have another guy to take his place. Bolton's hurt, Reynolds is sick..."

"Do you wanna leave the score at 20-20 and postpone the game?" the referee asked.

"I think that's what we'll need to do." With those words, Coach Welsh walked away.

"Alright, everyone! We know you're all here rooting for the Wildcats, but I'm afraid we're gonna need to postpone the game. The Wildcats don't have any guys available to take the place of the center position player." the referee announced.

Disappointed sounds floated through the room as people began standing up to leave.

"Wait!" Troy called out, flying down the aisle before Gabriella could stop him. "I can play!"

Coach Welsh stared at Troy in disbelief. "You're supposed to be waiting a week to use that wrist," he told him.

"I feel fine. I can do this." Troy adjusted the top of his Wildcats' jersey. Luckily, he had decided to wear it to the game, so he was well-prepared.

"But to be in center? Troy, you know, that's a hard position. I don't want to give you more than you can handle."

"I can do this."

Placing a hand on Troy's shoulder, Coach Welsh smiled and said, "Okay. Good luck."

"Never mind! Freshman Troy Bolton, who's supposed to be recovering from a broken bone, has stepped in to play center!" the referee called out.

Everyone that had stood up to leave remained standing while the people that hadn't yet rose from their seats joined them. The entire audience started to clap and cheer for Troy.

_Alright. Focus,_ Troy told himself. His lips were tight with concentration. His eyes shone with determination. He could do this.

The referee blew his whistle.

"Go Troy!" Gabriella shouted as worry flooded through her. What if he damaged his wrist by playing on it too soon?

"I can't believe he's doing this! The guy's crazy!" Sharpay, who was sitting beside Gabriella, whispered in her friend's ear.

"I know," said Gabriella with a smile.

* * *

There were only two minutes remaining in the entire game. No one had scored in the third quarter, so it was still a tied game.

Troy watched in dismay as a Knights player stole the ball from Jason and began to dribble it up to toss it into the basket. Running as fast as he could, he snatched the ball from right under his fingers and took it to the half court line. It was there that he passed it to Jason.

Jason made it close to the basket, but was blocked by one of the Knights. He tossed it to one of his teammates, who handed it over to Troy.

Troy sprinted toward the basket, the ball rapidly bouncing beneath his fingertips. When he made it to the basket, he quickly glanced at the clock. Six seconds left. Bringing the ball up to his hands, he jumped and threw it perfectly through the basket just as the buzzer sounded.

The court was filled with screaming Wildcats who were jumping on top of one another.

"What an exciting last minute shot from freshman Troy Bolton!" the man announcing the game spoke over the loudspeaker. "Thanks to him and his wonderful playing, East High's Wildcats are going to the championship!"

"You were _amazing,_ Wildcat!" Gabriella exclaimed as she ran from the audience and wrapped her arms around Troy from behind.

Troy turned around and, catching Gabriella in his arms, spun her in in a circle. "Brie!"

"I can't even tell you how exciting that was! Great work!" Gabriella crashed her lips down onto her boyfriend's.

"I know! It _was_ so exciting! We're going to the championship! Baby girl, we're going to the championship!" Troy hugged Gabriella tightly.

"Great job, Wildcat! I love you!"

Troy's expression of happiness quickly changed to one of seriousness. "You love me, Brie?"

* * *

**Hey, guys! I know the beginning will probably get lots of complaints, but I'll let you know that they won't be making love for quite a while. Troy was just being the typical curious guy. LOL. I don't think I'll get reported for that because it's just heavy making out (hopefully I don't get reported). Also, did you see my adorable new avatar? VANESSA'S ON ZAC'S LAP! So cute! It's a rare pic, one of Zanessa's personal ones, actually, that I found in a YouTube video and couldn't find anywhere else. I'm obsessing over it right now!**


	30. Conversation

"I mean...uh...I love you for winning the game!" Gabriella stammered, forcing a smile onto her face and tossing her arms about Troy's neck.

"Oh...right," Troy mumbled in a tone that was barely audible, his arms wrapping around his girlfriend's waist. He didn't quite believe that she hadn't meant the "I love you" in a romantic way and he didn't really want to believe it, either. He had just begun to figure out that he was in love with her and that it wasn't just a crush, and it would've been nice if he could've heard that she loved him as well.

"What's wrong?" queried Gabriella, pulling back from Troy and gazing into his eyes.

"It's nothing, nothing at all," Troy answered hastily. "Let's just get going back home." Troy grabbed Gabriella's hand. It had been planned that after the game, whether the Wildcats had won or not, there was going to be an after-party held at one of the Wildcats' player's houses, but Troy and Gabriella had decided not to go because they were afraid it would involve things such as drinking.

"You sure nothing's wrong?" Gabriella checked as she allowed Troy to lead her over to where his parents were to let them know they were ready to leave.

"I'm positive." By the time the words had finished leaving Troy's mouth, he had reached his parents.

"Great job!" Jack congratulated with a smile, laying a hand on his son's shoulder. "You won the game!"

"Is your wrist okay?" Lucille inquired. The entire time Troy had been on the court, she had been filled with fear that, since he wasn't supposed to be playing so soon after getting his cast off, he would hurt himself again.

"I'm _fine_, Mom," Troy assured.

"Well, you did a good job. I'm so happy you won!"

"So, are you ready to leave?" Jack asked, pulling his keys from his pocket.

"Yeah," Troy nodded.

"Alright," Jack responded, beginning to head toward the gym doors. "Let's get going, then."

* * *

When Troy and Gabriella arrived back at their home, Troy quickly jumped in the shower to wash the sweat off his body and grabbed a few things from his room. Then he and Gabriella walked next door to Gabriella's house, where they were to have a sleepover that night.

"So, Wildcat," Gabriella began after closing her bedroom door behind herself and Troy. "What do you wanna do?"

"How about this?" Troy suggested as he leaned down and connected his lips with his girlfriend's.

"Mmmm, I like this," remarked Gabriella, parting her lips in response to Troy's tongue licking and his teeth nibbling them. Instinctively, her hands found their way through the bottom of his shirt and her fingers trailed over his firm chest.

Troy responded by gently guiding his girlfriend over to her bed, kissing her the whole way there.

When they could no longer breathe, Troy and Gabriella pulled apart and laid down close to one another on the bed, making sure they were facing each other.

Reaching out, Troy laid his calloused palm on Gabriella's soft cheek and stroked her skin with his thumb. "Oh, sweetheart," he murmured. "Why do you have to be so adorable?"

"I don't think I am adorable," came Gabriella's response.

"But you are," Troy disagreed gently. "Your smile, your eyes, the way you look at me, how you look when you're asleep..." He trailed off as he started another kiss with her.

When they broke apart, Gabriella let out a tired sigh and laid her head on Troy's chest.

"You sleepy?" Troy queried with a yawn. At Gabriella's nod, he said, "Yeah, me, too. Maybe we should start getting ready for bed now."

"Yeah," agreed Gabriella as she slid off the bed and, after grabbing her pajamas, walked into her bathroom and closed the door behind her. When she was done brushing her teeth and changing, Troy brushed his teeth, then took off his shirt so he was left to sleep in his shorts.

"Come here." Troy held out his arms once he and Gabriella were both under the covers, signaling that she should cuddle up to him.

Smiling, Gabriella slid over until she was up against Troy. Resting her cheek on his bare chest along with one of her hand, she let her free arm to drape over his stomach.

Troy wrapped his arms around his girlfriend's waist and pressed a kiss onto her forehead. "Good night, sweetheart," he whispered.

"Good night." Closing her eyes, Gabriella allowed herself to drift off to sleep.

* * *

"Good morning, sleepyhead," Gabriella greeted with a light giggle when she saw Troy open his eyes the next morning. Pushing his hair out of his eyes, she kissed his forehead.

"Hey, baby girl," Troy spoke, pulling his girlfriend closer to him than she already was and nuzzling the side of her face.

"Wildcat? Are you awake?" Gabriella queried after a moment of watching Troy lie there with his eyes closed and his nose still against her cheek.

"Hm?" Troy opened his eyes again.

"Are you awake?" repeated Gabriella.

"Kind of," Troy yawned.

"It's alright, honey. I know you must be really tired from your game last night. To be honest, I'm still a little sleepy, too. We'll just take it easy and stay in our pajamas and cuddle today."

"This sounds like a good day already," Troy murmured, a smile appearing on his lips as he leaned in to kiss Gabriella's lips.

"And this is the best way to start it," said Gabriella through the kiss. Her hands felt her boyfriend's firm chest while she allowed her tongue to slip into and explore his mouth.

"Mmmm, Brie, you're so good at this," Troy remarked when the two teenagers finally pulled away from each other. Tugging at the bottom of her shirt, under which his hands had been when their lips had been locked together, he looked questioningly into Gabriella's eyes. When she nodded in consent, he lifted the piece of clothing over her head, revealing her breasts to him. "Um...I see...I see you're not wearing a bra..."

Gabriella giggled. "I need a break from that every once in a while."

Troy nodded, pretending to understand, as he struggled to keep his eyes on Gabriella's face.

"Do you have a problem with me being half-naked?"

"No, not at all." Troy shook his head. "I just hadn't asked if it was okay to look or touch because I thought you had a bra on...I just didn't want to seem like a pervert or anything."

"You're my boyfriend, Wildcat. I'm very comfortable with you and I trust you more than anyone else. I don't mind if you see my breasts or want to stare at them or touch them."

"And no one else gets to see them?" Troy knew what the answer to his question would be, but he just wanted to hear Gabriella confirm that the privilege was his and his only.

"No, no one else. They're for your eyes only." Gabriella smiled.

Happiness washed over Troy. He was delighted to know that Gabriella trusted him. He knew she used to change in front of him when they were just friends, but that was just a friendship kind of trust. Now, she trusted him as her boyfriend. Permitting his hand to cup one of her breasts, Troy drew Gabriella into another kiss.

"You have a hot body," commented Gabriella quietly, not even quite realizing what she was saying, when she and Troy pulled apart.

"What?"

"You...uh...your body's hot." Gabriella blushed.

Troy smiled as he nuzzled Gabriella's breasts.

"That tickles," giggled Gabriella.

"How does this feel?" Troy asked as he took his thumb and brushed it across Gabriella's nipple.

Letting out a moan, Gabriella replied, "Wonderful."

Troy brought his lips to Gabriella's, allowing both of his thumbs to rub each of her nipples while his tongue was tangling with hers.

Sucking on Troy's lower lip, Gabriella felt his abs. "Do you like this?" she queried when the kiss ended.

Troy nodded. "It feels so good, baby girl. What about this?" He took one of Gabriella's hardened nipples between two of his fingers and squeezed gently.

"Ow, that hurts!"

"I'm sorry." Troy immediately took his hand off of Gabriella.

"It's okay. I know you were trying to be gentle. It's just that my breasts, particularly my nipples, are very sensitive, so you have to be extra careful with them. But it's fine. We're just getting to know each other's bodies and we have...um...maybe a long time to figure things out?" Gabriella chewed on her lip shyly.

"Well, I'm pretty sure that someday we're gonna get married, so we have years to find out what we like and dislike."

"Wildcat, can I ask you something?" Gabriella brought her questioning gaze to Troy's.

"Anything, sweetheart." Troy kissed his girlfriend's forehead.

"How many kids do you think you would want after we're married?"

"Um...I have no idea. At least one." Troy shrugged. "What about you?"

"I've always wanted three."

"Awww, three little Brie's running around. That would be adorable."

"Honey, I want at least one boy. They can't all be girls that look like me."

"Why not?"

"Because."

"Because why?" Troy persisted.

"Because there have to be some little Troy's, too." A smile spread across Gabriella's lips as she reached up, brushed Troy's hair out of his eyes, and placed a kiss on his forehead.

"And what about our house? Where do you think you would want to live?"

"Hawaii," Gabriella replied.

"Hawaii?" repeated Troy.

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah. I've always wanted to go there, and I think it would be great to have a house right near the beach, but not so close that it would have a chance of getting flooded. Just close enough that if we went outside, we could see the ocean off in the distance."

"I never knew you wanted to go to Hawaii so badly," said Troy.

"Well, I do. And I think we'll be learning a lot of new things about each other if we stay together."

"You know, one day, we're gonna go to Hawaii together, just the two of us. It'll have to be when we're older, though, but still...it's gonna happen."

"Maybe to celebrate when we graduate high school?" suggested Gabriella.

"That would be perfect! Then we could start looking for houses we would want!"

"Wait, we would really move to Hawaii?"

"If that's what you want, baby girl. I mean, we would wait until after college and all, but we would definitely move there." Troy ran his fingers through Gabriella's dark curls before pressing a kiss onto the top of her head.

"And the house would have three bedrooms and an attic we could turn into a fourth bedroom. Then we could have one room and if we end up having the three kids I want, they could each have their own room."

"What makes you think that I would want to share a room with you?" Troy teased.

"Wildcat, we share a room half the time now." Gabriella nuzzled Troy's nose.

"And could the house have a basketball court in the backyard?"

"If that's what you want." Gabriella smiled. "Oh, and we would also have a bathroom in our room and two more bathrooms in the house: one upstairs, one downstairs."

"And a kitchen with two ovens so you can make me lots of food."

Giggling, Gabriella said, "You really love food, don't you?"

"Yeah." Troy's stomach growled.

"And you want breakfast right now, I'm assuming?"

"Breakfast would be great."

"Alright, well, then, let's go." Sliding out of bed, Gabriella grabbed her top and pulled it over her head. Once Troy was wearing his shirt, she let him take her hand, and then they walked out of her room and down the stairs to eat.

* * *

**I'm not too sure about this chapter. I wrote and rewrote it about three times because I was so unsure, but anyway, thanks to Zac is my. Life for giving me the idea of Troyella talking about their dream house! And also, please review:)**


	31. Championship

Gabriella stepped out of the shower, quickly dried herself off, then fastened a towel around her body. Opening her bathroom door, she made her way over to her dresser, where she grabbed a bottle of red nail polish. After coating each one of both her fingernails and her toenails with it, she sat on her bed and picked up a book to read. When her nails were all dry, she walked over to her dresser and pulled out a bra and a pair of underwear, then moved over to her closet. From there, she took a knee-length red dress with thick white strips at both the hem and the outline of the v-neck.

_Knock, knock._ "It's me, sweetheart."

Gabriella looked over at her clock. There was still an hour left until it was time to leave. What did Troy want? "Come in, it's unlocked."

"Oh, sorry," Troy apologized as he entered the room and caught sight of Gabriella wrapped in a towel and quickly shoving whatever article of clothing she had taken from her closet back inside of it.

"What are you doing here?" asked Gabriella. "It's not even close to being time to go."

"I'm just feeling really nervous," Troy explained. That night was the night of the championship game. "And I thought that maybe if I hung out with you for a while, I would relax a little."

"Well, I need to get dressed and get my hair fixed. I'm really sorry, but I want what I'm wearing tonight to be a surprise for you, so I'm afraid I'm gonna have to kick you out. I'll give you a kiss, though." Gabriella moved over to Troy and, fastening her arms around his waist, placed a kiss onto his lips.

"It's okay," Troy assured. "I understand." He nuzzled the side of his girlfriend's face. "That kiss just made me feel a whole lot better, anyway, so I think I'm good now."

Gabriella leaned up to give her boyfriend a kiss on his cheek, then told him, "Bye, honey. I'll see you in a little bit, okay?"

"Okay." After kissing Gabriella's forehead, Troy walked back outside.

Once she was sure that Troy was gone and wasn't going to walk back in, Gabriella got dressed. When she was sure the red strings on her dress were tied perfectly in the back, she took her hair dryer, which she didn't use as often as most girls did, and blew her curls dry straight. She then took a few minutes to use the flat iron on her straightened hair to smooth it down. That task being finished, she applied dark, shimmery brown eye shadow and eyeliner to her eyelids and carefully brushed her eyelashes with mascara. Then, she took her blush and put just a little on her cheeks and finished off her look with tinted lip gloss.

_Ding dong!_

Knowing that the sound of the doorbell signaled that Troy was at the door, Gabriella hurriedly put in a pair of beaded red and white earrings and slipped her feet into a pair of white wedge-heeled sandals before rushing down the steps.

"Oh, there she is now," David, who had answered he door, was saying to Troy. Evidentially, he had just been in the middle of telling him that Gabriella was still getting ready.

When Troy caught sight of his girlfriend, his eyes instantly locked onto her and his lips parted in surprise. She was gorgeous.

"Hey, Wildcat," Gabriella greeted with a smile as she came to the doorway. Turning to her father, she said, "I should be back around eleven. Is that okay with you?" Whether the Wildcats won the championship or not, there was going to be an after-party at Sharpay and Ryan's house Because it was there, Troy and Gabriella trusted that there would be no drinking involved, so they had made the decision to go, so that was the reason why she was going to be back so late.

"Yes, that's fine," David replied. "The after-party's at the Evans' house, right?"

Gabriella nodded.

"Okay, just double-checking. Bye, honey." After watching his daughter walk down the driveway with Troy, her hand in his, David closed the door.

"So, Brie, you haven't given me a kiss yet," Troy spoke when they reached his driveway. Taking her other hand so he had both of them grasped within his fingers, he leaned in and connected his lips with hers. When they broke apart, he looked her over and murmured, "Wow, Brie. You look incredibly beautiful tonight." He allowed his fingers to stroke her straight locks.

"Alright, you two ready to go?" Jack checked as he walked out the front door of the Bolton house with his wife.

"Yeah," Troy and Gabriella answered at the same time before getting into the car, Troy making sure he opened the door and held it for his girlfriend before climbing in himself.

Although the ride to East High was silent, Troy and Gabriella were far from being boring. Their time in the car was spent cuddling and, when Jack and Lucille weren't watching, sneaking little kisses. Once they reached the school, they got out, quickly grabbed hands, and headed into the building.

"I've gotta go to the locker room now," announced Troy when he, Gabriella, and his parents reached the gym. "I'll talk to you after the game, though, okay, sweetheart?"

"Okay." Gabriella gave Troy a hug and a kiss, then went off to sit with Martha, who had come early because she had to do cheerleading for the game. However, she had already finished getting ready and warming up, so she had a few minutes to talk.

"Hey, Gabby," Martha greeted with a smile.

"Hey," Gabriella returned. "So, do you think the Wildcats are gonna be able to win tonight?"

"I sure hope so! Jason was telling me that ever since they won the playoffs, the coach has been working them twice as hard in practice to make sure they're really prepared."

"Yeah, I've been hearing about that from Troy. He said he's been sore for the past week because of all the stuff he's had to do."

As soon as Gabriella finished speaking, Sharpay, Zeke, Ryan, and Kelsi came walking into the gym, Sharpay's arm linked with Zeke's and Ryan and Kelsi holding hands. Taylor followed close behind.

"Hey!" Sharpay called out as soon as she caught sight of Gabriella and Martha. Pulling Zeke along with her, she rushed over to them and sat down. Ryan, Kelsi, and Taylor soon caught up.

"Hi," Gabriella said.

"Hey, guys," Martha smiled.

After a little while of talking, people began to crowd the bleachers. Not long after everyone was settled, the announcer's voice was heard over the speaker. "Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the East High Wildcats vs. the North High Blasters championship game!" The announcer then went on to announce each player from both teams. As each guy's name was mentioned, he would come out and shoot a basket, then jog to his designated position. Troy was still playing center, as the player that normally covered that position was still not recovered enough from his sprained ankle.

When everyone was out on the court, the referee blew the whistle and the game began.

* * *

The buzzer sounded, signaling that halftime was starting. So far, the Wildcats were behind by 6 points. Not good, but not terrible, either. It could easily be made up for if the team played the right way.

The school choir, which was doing the halftime show, stepped out onto the court to perform. Some people remained sitting in the audience while others left to use the bathroom or get something to eat. Gabriella, however, didn't do either. She got off the bleachers and went to the door of the locker room. Trusting that none of the guys would be changing since it was the middle of the game, she walked inside and wrapped her arms around Troy from behind.

"What are you doing in here, sweetheart?" Troy queried as he spun around on the bench he was sitting on and, taking Gabriella into his arms, placed her on his lap.

"I just wanted to see you," Gabriella answered, bringing her face up to Troy's and smiling her sweetest smile.

"I understand that and I want nothing more than for my beautiful girl to be here with me, but I really think you should leave before the guys start getting suspicious and Coach Welsh comes in and gets mad that you're in here." Troy ran his fingers through Gabriella's hair.

"Kisses?" Giving Troy her most pleading look, Gabriella patiently waited until he touched his lips to hers and pulled her close to him.

After giving her small, innocent kisses, Troy said, "Alright, now you had your kisses and I need to get ready to go out and play again, so I'm afraid I'm gonna have to kick you out. See you after the game, though."

"Hey, Bolton, why's your girl in here?" one of the team members, who had been watching the entire time Troy and Gabriella had been kissing, demanded.

"She was just stopping in to see me," Troy told him. "But she's leaving now." After Gabriella slid off of Troy's lap, he grabbed her hand and led her to the door of the locker room. "One more lucky kiss, sweetheart," he whispered.

Gabriella kissed her boyfriend once more, then rushed back into the gym and found her spot on the bleachers again. It wasn't long before the game resumed.

"Go Troy!" shouted Gabriella, catching sight of Troy quickly snatching the ball from one of the Blasters and dribbling it up to the basket. Another two points for the Wildcats appeared on the scoreboard as he released the ball from his grasp and allowed it to glide perfectly through the net.

"W-I-L-D! Go Wildcats!" The cheerleaders waved their pom-poms before performing a few fouettes.

"I should've been the halftime show," Ryan complained while crossing his arms over his chest.

Gabriella shot Sharpay a questioning look.

"He's been acting like a freaking baby about this the whole time you were visiting Troy," explained Sharpay. "As you already know, he asked the principal if he could do the halftime show for this game and the principal told him 'no.' And he still hasn't gotten over that yet."

"Well, it's disappointing!" Ryan snapped. "Especially when you know you're better than those horrendous singers!"

"Calm down, Ry," Kelsi spoke in a gentle tone as she laid a hand on her boyfriend's arm.

The moment another complaint was about to come from Ryan's mouth, Jason shot the ball through the hoop, making the game tied. Not long after he did that, the buzzer went off. The third quarter had ended. Both the Wildcats and the Blasters jogged over to their benches to talk with their teammates about strategies they were going to use in the last quarter of the game.

While his coach was talking, Troy's eyes quickly darted up into the audience. Catching sight of Gabriella, who smiled and gave him a thumbs up, he turned his attention back to Coach Welsh.

It wasn't long before the two teams were ready to play again. Once they had run back to their positions, the buzzer sounded and the final minutes of the game began.

* * *

Twenty seconds remained on the clock. It was a 22-22 game. Troy had the ball. Dribbling it up to the basket, he ran into trouble with a Blasters' player. However, that didn't stop him. He hurriedly passed the ball to one of his teammates, who dribbled the ball the rest of the way to the net and, just as the buzzer made its sound, slid it through.

Cheers erupted from both on the court and in the bleachers. The Wildcats had won!

"Congratulations!" shouted Gabriella, running as fast as she could in her heels to where Troy was. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she briefly jumped onto his back.

"Brie!" Troy exclaimed, spinning around and lifting his girlfriend into his arms. After spinning her around in several circles, he took laced the fingers of both her hands with his and kissed her lips. "We did it! We won!"

"I know! This is so exciting!" Gabriella hugged Troy again.

"Bolton, you were fantastic at the end! It took quick thinking to make that pass!" Coach Welsh complimented.

"Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! You were absolutely _wonderful_ out there!" Carissa, her pom-poms in one hand, pushed Gabriella away from Troy. She then put her hand behind his head to prevent him from moving it and crashed her lips down onto his.

Troy used both hands to push the cheerleader away. When she was separated from him, he took his hand and wiped his mouth furiously with it. "Eww! Disgusting! You stay away from me, Carissa! I have a girlfriend!"

"You know, you have two choices, sexy," smirked Carissa as she put her face right up into Troy's. "The hot blonde cheerleader that would be more than willing to get into bed with you, or that tiny, ugly brunette that's dumb enough to believe you actually like her. Now, which will it be?"

"She's _petite,_ not tiny." Anger blazed in Troy's eyes and his hands clenched into fists. "And you're the ugly one. I've never seen more make-up plastered on a girl's face in my life."

Carissa gasped dramatically and brought her hand to her face. "How dare you say such a thing?" Turning to Gabriella, she snarled, "You'd better get away from Troy before you brainwash him more than you already have. He's gonna be mine, so get that through your head and give up trying."

"N-No, he...he's mine," stammered Gabriella.

"So you think," Carissa sneered.

"Hey! Get away from her right now!" Troy ordered, rushing to Gabriella's side and fastening his arm tightly around her small waist.

"Whatever. But this isn't the last time you're hearing from me, Zaccy." Batting her mascara-loaded eyelashes at Troy, she whispered, "Yes, you look like Zac Efron. And I like Zac Efron. He's hot."

Troy opened his mouth to say something, but Carissa darted away. Pressing a kiss onto the top of his girlfriend's head, he told her, "I'm gonna go to the locker room and get a shower now. Will you be okay if I leave you by yourself for a few minutes?"

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

"Okay, beautiful. I'll be right back." With that, Troy touched his lips to Gabriella's cheek, then ran off in the direction of the locker room.

* * *

"Would you like some punch?" Troy asked Gabriella. The two of them were at the Evans' home enjoying the party with their friends while trying to avoid the annoying members of East High, such as Carissa. Zeke, who had been put in charge of all the food, had made red punch, sugar cookies with red and white sprinkles, cupcakes frosted white with the letters "EHS" done in red, and a large cake with the Wildcats' logo on it. In addition to all those things, there were pretzels, potato chips, party mix, brownies, and chocolate chip cookies.

"Sure," Gabriella replied.

Troy poured Gabriella a cup of punch and handed it to her. "There you go, sweetheart."

"Awww!" exclaimed Kelsi. "See, Ryan? He called her 'sweetheart' and got her a cup of punch! Now who can't you do stuff like that to me instead of blabbering about how you couldn't do your jazz dance at halftime."

"It was disappointing!" Ryan protested. "Now stop giving me complaints!"

"Look who's talking," Sharpay pointed out.

"I'm gonna go in the pool," announced Ryan. The party was being held in the entire downstairs, and at the moment nearly everyone, including Troy, Gabriella, Ryan, Kelsi, Zeke, Sharpay, Jason, Martha, and Taylor were crowded into there, mostly because that's where the food was set up along with several decorations such as red and white banners and balloons.

"Go ahead. I'm not stopping you," Sharpay invited.

"Come over and watch me!" Ryan shouted, taking off his shirt and preparing to do a cannonball into the water.

Everyone, knowing Ryan wouldn't leave them alone until they watched him jump in, rolled their eyes and walked to the edge of the pool.

"Oops, sorry!" Carissa giggled in a false tone as she went behind Gabriella and pushed her over the edge.

"Brie!" Troy shouted, leaning over the side of the pool so his girlfriend could grab his hand and pull herself up over the edge. "Are you okay?" he inquired when she was in his arms, tears streaming down her face.

"I-I'm fine...just really cold...but it...it was so embarrassing." She buried her face into Troy's chest at the sound of half the party laughing hysterically about the fact that while falling in, her dress had flown up and they had caught a glimpse of her underwear. As the cool night air blew through the open window, she cuddled far into him to try to stop the shivers that were taking over her body.

"Do you want to take her up to my room?" Sharpay offered. "I have a whole closet full of clothes if she wants to change into something dry and towels are in my bathroom. She can also use all my hair things to get her hair fixed up. Oh, and she can also feel free to use my shower and make-up. I have two whole drawers of make-up in my bathroom. You can't miss it."

"Thanks." Troy smiled. "Now where is your room?"

"If you go upstairs, it's the first room down the hall."

"Alright. Let's go, Brie." Knowing Gabriella would just want to cling to him, Troy lifted her into his arms and stroked her dripping hair as he took her up to Sharpay's room. After shutting and locking the door behind them, he put her down on the ground. "It's okay, baby girl." He kissed her tears away. "Now, do you want me to leave so you can have privacy?"

Gabriella shook her head. "Stay, please."

"Okay. Well, do you want a hot shower?"

"Sure."

Taking her hand, Troy led Gabriella into the bathroom, where he started running the water, then took Gabriella's earrings from her and placed them on the counter. As she peeled off her wet clothes, Troy looked around in the closet for a towel. Taking out one of the many hot pink ones, he handed it to her then said, "I'll be waiting in the bedroom for you, okay?"

Gabriella nodded in acknowledgement before climbing into the shower. When she came out ten minutes later, she dried off, wrapped the towel around her, and went to go see Troy.

"Hey, baby girl. You feel better?"

Nodding, Gabriella made her way over to Sharpay's closet. _Wow, this is huge,_ she thought as she dug in the back and selected a pair of designer jeans and a pink babydoll top. Since those articles of clothing weren't near the front of the closet, she assumed they were things her friend didn't wear too often. Once she was dressed, she rushed over to her boyfriend and curled up in his lap.

"Do you wanna go home, princess?" Troy queried gently.

"Yes," Gabriella replied as she buried her face into Troy's shoulder.

"I'll call my house and get one of my parents to come get us." Wrapping one arm around Gabriella, Troy used his free hand to grab his phone from the pocket of the jeans he had put on after the game. After talking for a minute, he put it back. "My dad will be here in ten minutes." Pressing his lips to the top of Gabriella's head, Troy noticed that her shoes weren't anywhere in the room. "Where are your shoes, sweetheart?"

"They came off when Carissa pushed me in the pool."

"That's okay, baby girl. When we get home, you can text Sharpay and tell her and she can make Ryan get them out and then she can give them back at school on Monday. I would say we could tell Ryan to get them tonight, but I don't think you wanna go back into the pool area."

Gabriella shook her head furiously.

"I didn't think so, baby girl. And that's okay. I'll just carry you to my car."

Normally, Gabriella would insist she could walk, but at that point, she was too upset to protest.

"Now, how about I rub your feet for a few minutes until my dad gets here?" Keeping Gabriella in his lap, Troy positioned her so that he could easily reach her feet without making her uncomfortable. Then, massaging her foot, he remarked, "Look at your cute little toes! Awww, they're adorable!"

Gabriella let out a giggle. "I'm not a baby, Wildcat. My feet aren't that little."

"But they're cute." Smiling, Troy leaned down to kiss Gabriella's toes. After a little bit of kissing and tickling them, he stood up and carried her out to where his dad was waiting. Once they were both settled into the car, he wrapped his arms around her and let her fall asleep on his shoulder.

It had certainly been an eventful night.

* * *

**I hope you guys remember who Carissa was. If you don't, she was near the beginning of the story and she's a mean cheerleader that wants to get Troy. Also, I keep forgetting to mention this, but this story is over 100,000 words now! Yay! So anyway, hope you liked it! Please review:)**


	32. An Unexpected Return

Gabriella clutched Troy's hand tightly and leaned into his side as the they stepped onto the bus. After the embarrassment of being pushed into the pool at the after-party just two days ago, she was reluctant to have to go back to school. She knew she would be teased and that everyone would be talking about her, and that definitely wasn't something she wanted to deal with, especially since she was only a freshman.

A couple of the girls covered their mouths and giggled when they saw Troy and Gabriella walk past their seats to locate a vacant spot near the back. Once the couple was hidden from their view, they began to whisper amongst one another.

Troy wrapped his arms around his girlfriend's waist and held her close, pressing a kiss into her hair as she rested her cheek on his shoulder. "I'm here," he reminded her in a whisper before falling completely silent for the rest of the ride to East High.

Letting out a whimper, Gabriella strengthened her grip on Troy's hand and buried her head in his shoulder while walking through the doors of the school. Up until this point, she had only had to see a small portion of the teenagers at East High. Now, she would have to face them all. And, unfortunately, Carissa was the first she had to encounter.

"So," Carissa began, "How'd you like your little swim on Friday night?" She laughed until tears spilled from her eyes.

"Leave her alone," Troy ordered. "It's bad enough that you had to push her into the water. Torturing her isn't necessary."

Continuing to laugh, Carissa went on. "It was hilarious, though! Especially when everyone got to see the proof of what we've all been assuming: Gabriella wears completely un-sexy underwear!"

Fury rushed through Troy like a tornado. "And being a little slut that goes out in a white see-through bikini that just barely covers what's absolutely necessary to be covered is better than that?" He was referring to the swimsuit Carissa had changed into the night of the after-party. Her breasts had been hanging out of the top and if the bottoms had shifted over even ever so slightly, someone would've caught an eyeful of her private area. However, that wouldn't have made much of a difference, for when wet, the thin material of the bikini provided no modesty. That hadn't pleased Troy much because he didn't think it was right to look at other girls' bodies, even if he just caught an accidental glimpse. It made him feel like he was cheating on Gabriella, and that was the last thing he wanted to do.

"What did you just call me?"

"A little slut," Troy growled, hatred thick in his voice.

Those words used in that tone were far too much for even Carissa to handle. Bringing her hand to her mouth, she gasped as tears burst from her eyes and quickly ran to the bathroom.

Troy smirked. Carissa had most definitely gotten what she had deserved.

"What did you do to her?" wailed a short, skinny blonde girl, who instantly dropped the hot pink iphone she had been holding into her book bag and marched over to Troy, her heels clicking loudly on the floor. Evidentially, she was one of Carissa's friends.

"She was torturing my girl," explained Troy coldly.

"So you called her a slut?" the girl cried out. "You know, I used to dream about having sex with you, but after this..." Her hand came up and met Troy's cheek with a hard slap before she stomped away, both anger and satisfaction written all over her face.

"Ow!" Troy cried out as he brought his hand to the sore spot on his face.

"Are you okay?" asked Gabriella, worry instantly rushing through her. Gently prying her boyfriend's hand from his cheek, she leaned up and kissed the small bruise that was beginning to form. "My poor, sweet Troy," she murmured. "You know, you didn't have to go through this just for me."

"Brie, no one torments you and gets away with it," came Troy's reply.

"Troy Bolton, please report to the principal's office immediately," came a voice over the loudspeaker.

Groaning in embarrassment, Troy made an attempt to release Gabriella's hand so he could go see what the principal wanted.

"No. I'm coming with you," Gabriella decided firmly.

Not bothering to argue, Troy led Gabriella through the halls until they reached the wooden door that was labeled as, "Principal Matsui: Room 576." Pushing it open, the two teenagers both entered.

"Have a seat," Principal Matsui invited, motioning to the two empty chairs that were in front of his desk.

Troy and Gabriella each sat down in their own chair, but didn't let go of each other's hands.

"Now, Troy, I hear that you were speaking with bad language to a young lady and she ended up walking away crying. Is that true?" the principal inquired as he adjusted his thin-framed glasses.

"Yes," Troy admitted.

"And what was the reason for that behavior?"

"Well, at the after-party on Friday night, she pushed Gabriella into a pool, and today, she was torturing her about it." Troy's hands balled into fists at just having to mention the incident.

"That's no reason to treat a young woman in a disrespectful way." Principal Matsui shook his head slowly in disapproval. "You've earned yourself free period detention for two days."

A protest was on the tip of Troy's tongue, but he held it in, knowing that it would only get him into more trouble if he said what he was thinking. "Okay," came his calm, simple reply.

"Alright. You'll meet in Ms. Darbus' homeroom at free period today and tomorrow then. Now go ahead and leave now."

After leaving the room, Troy let out a groan. "Ms. Darbus? Why does it have to be Ms. Darbus?"

"I wonder what she's gonna have you do this time," said Gabriella.

"It better not be something to do with painting. Last time when we had to paint sets it was just horrible."

Just then, the bell sounded.

Troy groaned again. "And now we're late for class." _Could this day get any worse?_ he thought to himself.

* * *

The first half of the day passed with only a scolding from Ms. Darbus about how important it was to be punctual and that if Troy and Gabriella were late a second time, they would earn themselves a detention. However, when it came to lunchtime, the two teenagers were out of luck.

Because of the rough morning they had had, Troy and Gabriella had decided to eat lunch on the rooftop so they could enjoy the meal in peace and quiet. Once all the other students were in the cafeteria, they grabbed their food from their lockers and, holding hands, started to walk toward the staircase that led to their special place.

Suddenly, the sound of someone's shoes on the floor could be heard from around the corner.

Troy shot Gabriella a look that told her to stop, although she didn't really need it. She didn't want anyone to find out about their secret hideout more than he did.

As the person came into view, Gabriella hid her face in Troy's shoulder, her heart racing with fear.

"Hey, sexy, have you changed your mind about me yet?" The newcomer asked Gabriella.

It was Chad.

* * *

**Sorry this chapter was so short and not full of fluff:( I promise the next one will be better! Also, I want to say happy birthday to Zac is my. Life:) And please review!**


	33. Upset

"What are you doing here?" demanded Troy, his eyes turning icy as he protectively wrapped an arm around Gabriella's waist, drawing her close to him. There was no way he was going to let Chad hurt his girl, especially after the disaster with Carissa at the after-party.

"The school said I was allowed to come back. I was _suspended,_ not _expelled,_ you know," spat Chad. "But the real question is: why are _you _with _her?_ I mean, I thought you would've backed off and let someone better have her."

"I'm her boyfriend, and if you lay one hand on her, I'll beat the crap out of you," Troy growled.

"Oh, I'm really scared, Bolton," came Chad's sarcastic response, taking one step closer and slowly reaching out a hand to touch Gabriella's breasts.

Troy smacked Chad's hand away and, releasing Gabriella from his grip, advanced toward him with his hands balled into fists and kicked him between his legs as hard as he could. "That should show you not to mess with my girl."

Chad didn't respond. Instead, he just laid on the ground moaning in pain.

Taking Chad's injury as an opportunity to get away from him, Troy walked back to Gabriella. Without even asking, he assumed that she would rather be carried than walk, so he lifted her at her waist and settled her so that she was straddling his waist as if he were holding a toddler. Feeling her arms wrap around his neck and her face bury into his shoulder, he pressed a kiss into her hair and took her back to the cafeteria. It was too risky to try to eat in their special place with Chad following them around.

As they entered the cafeteria, Troy and Gabriella caught the attention of a few students that were puzzled by the fact that he was carrying her. After his spectacular performance in the playoff game and the incident that morning, Troy was pretty well-known around the school and since Gabriella was his girlfriend that always seemed to be attached at the hip to him, the teenagers recognized her as well. However, no one made any sort of remark until Troy and Gabriella reached the table their friends were sitting at.

"What's wrong?" Taylor inquired as Troy sat down and placed Gabriella on his lap.

"Chad," came Troy's single word reply.

"Chad Danforth?" Sharpay queried. "I thought he was suspended."

"He was, but apparently the school let him come back now and he was trying to touch _my_ baby girl." Troy took Gabriella's hand in his and squeezed it tightly, but not so tight that he was hurting her.

"I know how you feel, dude," Zeke responded. "If anyone tried to do anything to Sharpay, I would be furious."

"Awww," said Sharpay, smiling up at her boyfriend. "You're so sweet, you know that, Zekey?"

"And what would you do, Ryan?" Kelsi shot Ryan a glare. "You probably wouldn't even notice. You would just be trying to impress everyone with your newest dance routine."

"Uh...you know I would do anything for you, baby," Ryan told his girlfriend awkwardly.

"What about you?" Martha turned toward Jason.

"Huh?" Jason gave Martha a blank look.

Martha groaned. "Well, I guess it's safe to assume that I could be laying dead right in front of my boyfriend and he would have no idea what had just happened."

Laughter erupted from everyone at the table.

"Wanna eat any lunch, princess?" asked Troy once the laughing had died down. He pulled a sandwich from Gabriella's lunch bag.

Shaking her head, Gabriella buried her face in Troy's shoulder.

"What's the matter, sweetheart?" Rubbing her back gently, Troy nuzzled Gabriella's hair while pressing kisses into it.

"I'm too upset to eat," Gabriella murmured, wrapping her arms tightly around Troy and beginning to sob. "I just...I just w-wanna go home."

"I gotta go," Troy announced to his friends, standing up with Gabriella in his arms and taking her out of the cafeteria. He was sure Chad wasn't still hanging out near the entrance to his and Gabriella's secret place, so he took her in that direction. When his thoughts were confirmed by not seeing his enemy anywhere around, he went up the stairs and onto the rooftop. Sitting down on the bench that was placed amongst the many potted plants the science club had set out, he hugged Gabriella close to him and stroked her hair gently, waiting patiently for her to be ready to talk.

"I...I don't wanna be a-around Chad...a-and I saw the school newspaper earlier and...and m-my picture's o-on it...T-Troy, they wrote a-an article about me f-falling into the pool! A-And to make things worse, it's...it's my t-time of the month a-and I have horrible cramps..."

"They wrote an article for the newspaper about you? I'm gonna kill them, Brie." Fury was evident in Troy's voice. "And as for Chad, he'll be dead along with them if he bothers you anymore."

Gabriella tried to stop crying, but she just couldn't. Oh, the joys of PMS.

"And for your cramps, let me rub your stomach and see if they go away." Troy laid Gabriella down so that her head was resting in his lap and rubbed her stomach gently with one of his hands. Gabriella had never told him about having cramps before, but he wasn't surprised that she did because over the time they had been together, they strong bond they'd shared for almost their whole lives had grown stronger.

"I feel better," Gabriella remarked as her tears finally started to cease. "But I still wanna go home."

"How about we skip classes for the rest of the day and just stay up here?" Troy suggested.

"Okay," agreed Gabriella. Although she normally hated skipping class, she was just too upset to care at the moment.

After rubbing her stomach for a little longer, Troy pulled his girlfriend back onto his lap and held her close, nuzzling his nose into her hair to take in the scent of it. "Mmmm, your hair smells good," he remarked.

Letting out a giggle, Gabriella turned her face toward Troy and put on her sweetest face.

"You want kisses?"

Gabriella nodded slowly.

Smiling, Troy leaned down and placed small, sweet kisses on Gabriella's forehead, both her cheeks, her nose, and her lips.

Satisfied with the affection Troy had showed to her, Gabriella leaned against his chest and let out a tired sigh.

"Awww, is my baby girl sleepy?"

"Mm-hm."

"Go to sleep, sweetheart," Troy invited, running his fingers through Gabriella's curls.

Gabriella's cuddled further into Troy and allowed her eyes to close.

Thinking she had fallen asleep already, Troy softly began to sing:

_Everyday of our lives,_

_Wanna find you there, wanna hold on tight._

At the sound of Troy's voice, Gabriella went from being half asleep to sleeping soundly in her boyfriend's arms. He had never sung to her before, but she was too tired to question him about it, so she decided to wait until she woke up.

"I love you, Brie," Troy spoke softly as he kissed Gabriella's forehead.

* * *

By the time Gabriella awoke, school was almost over. One would think that Troy had found himself bored during his time sitting up on the roof, but he hadn't. He had loved watching his precious angel sleep peacefully in his arms.

"Wildcat?" Gabriella said as she turned her face toward Troy.

"Yeah?"

"You were singing to me."

"You heard that, sweetheart? I thought you were asleep."

"I hadn't fallen asleep yet," Gabriella responded. "But you don't have to worry about it. I liked you singing." She smiled.

"Did you hear anything else?" Troy queried. Half of him wanted her to say that she had still been awake and had heard him when he'd told her that he loved her, but the other half of him wanted her to not have heard his words.

Gabriella shook her head. "No, why?"

"Well, I was just kind of talking to you in your sleep so I was just wondering..." Troy trailed off.

"What were you saying?"

"I was just uh...telling you that you're my baby girl and my princess," lied Troy.

"Oh," came Gabriella's simple response.

Just then, the school bell rang, signaling the end of classes for the day.

"You ready to go?" asked Troy.

"Yeah."

"You want me to carry you?"

"M-hm." Fastening her arms around Troy's neck, Gabriella cuddled into him as she felt him stand up while holding her.

"Let's get out of here." With those words, Troy began to walk down the stairs and out of the building. That school day definitely hadn't been a good one.

* * *

**I know I made Gabriella kind of clingy in this chapter and I know some people don't like that, so I'm just letting you know that I'm not trying to imply that she's helpless. I just think it's cute when Troy's holding her in his lap or carrying her around, so I tend to make chapters where she's in a clingy mood sometimes. Also, I hope I don't get reported for the two lines of lyrics I put in here. I was trying to think of another way to put what Troy was singing, but it wouldn't seem as cute to just put the name of the song, so I just tried to keep the lyrics to a minimum. **

**Please review! You guys hit 350, so let's go for 400!**


	34. Trauma

Clutching Troy's hand tightly, Gabriella forced herself to be brave as she walked through the doors of East High. She tried not to think about Chad and the fact that there was an article in the school newspaper about her falling into the pool at the after-party. Instead, she focused on the events of the previous night.

_Troy's tongue was tangling with Gabriella's as he pushed her t-shirt up, feeling the smooth skin of her stomach while relishing the feeling of her hands on his bare abs. This kiss had started as a good-night kiss, but had turned into a heavy make out session._

_"Mmmm, Troy," moaned Gabriella through the kiss._

_"You like that, don't you, baby girl?" Troy spoke when the kiss ended due to lack of air. At Gabriella's nod, a smile spread across his face. He then pulled her shirt over her head and unclasped her bra, allowing it to slide off her arms and onto his bed. Taking his thumbs, he stroked her nipples, causing them to grow hard as rocks._

_"Wildcat...that feels so good..." murmured Gabriella, climbing on top of Troy and straddling him so that he had a clear view of her naked upper body._

_Troy felt the bulge that was already in his pants grow larger as he noticed Gabriella's small breasts bouncing ever so slightly while she got on top of him. "Hey, baby girl," he said, propping himself up on his pillow so that he was half-sitting, half-lying down. Taking Gabriella's hands, he carefully lowered her down until she was lying on her stomach on top of him, her breasts pressing against his chest. _

_"Kiss me again, Wildcat," begged Gabriella, bringing her face up to Troy's._

_At his girlfriend's request, Troy connected his lips with hers, his tongue immediately slipping into her mouth and his teeth nibbling on her lower lip. Making out was definitely one of his favorite things to do._

_Gabriella took the opportunity of Troy's tongue inside her mouth to slide hers between his lips and explore. When she was finally out of breath, she pulled away._

_After taking time to let more oxygen into his lungs, Troy carefully pushed Gabriella off of him and lightly touched his lips to one of her nipples before nuzzling his nose into her breasts and placing his head there. _

_Letting out a soft giggle, Gabriella ran her fingers through her boyfriend's hair._

_Troy smiled and, lifting his head, hesitantly wrapped his lips around one of Gabriella's nipples and started to suck gently. _

_Gabriella wasn't sure how to describe what feeling was going through her. The sensation of Troy sucking on her breast was strange, as it was something she had never experienced before, but at the same time, it was delightful. That is, until he decided to nibble as well as just suck. "Honey, that hurts," said Gabriella. _

_Instantly pulling away, Troy apologized. "I'm sorry, Brie."_

_"It's okay. I'm not mad or anything. I actually was really enjoying you sucking, but when you started biting, it was just too much."_

_"I'm sorry," Troy repeated sincerely. He truly hated causing Gabriella pain and was felt terrible for letting himself do something that would hurt her. "I should've known."_

_"It's okay," Gabriella assured once more as she climbed into Troy's lap._

_Placing his chin on Gabriella's shoulder, Troy looked over it, taking in the sight of her breasts. _

_"Hey!" Gabriella playfully smacked Troy's arm, which was holding her close to him. "No peeking!"_

_"It's a little late for that," Troy remarked with a smile. "I've been seeing your body for twelve years. You're the one I used to run around naked with all the time, and we used to take baths together. Remember?"_

_"That's when we were little, Wildcat," giggled Gabriella. "We were barely out of preschool. Now, I would never run around naked. I wouldn't even run around in my underwear."_

_Troy placed a hand on Gabriella's thigh, which was covered by the shorts she was wearing to sleep in. "That I'm glad about. I don't want any other guys seeing my baby girl's body." He moved his arms up so that he had them right below her breasts. Taking a finger, he placed it on one of her nipples, which had grown soft again, and caressed it._

_"Haven't you gotten enough?" Gabriella teased as she turned around to look at Troy._

_"I like your breasts," came Troy's simple reply. _

_"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Gabriella wondered._

_Troy didn't respond. Instead, he stood up, scooped his girlfriend into his arms, and carried her into his bathroom, where he started to fill up the tub. "You're taking a hot bath," he announced. "After everything you went through today and with your cramps and all, I think it'll be good for you." He placed her on the counter and pulled a fluffy towel from his closet. Handing it to her, he kissed her forehead and said, "Enjoy. I'll be in my room if you need me. If you want, I have a t-shirt you can sleep in if you would rather wear that than your pajamas."_

_"Okay. Thanks, Wildcat. Oh, and it feels kind of awkward asking this, but do you have any tampons in your house? I kinda need to change..." A light blush covered Gabriella's cheeks._

_"I think my mom keeps some in the main bathroom. I'll go look while you're having your bath, alright?"_

_Gabriella nodded in acknowledgement._

_"See you in a little bit." With that, Troy walked out of the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. He loved spoiling his princess with things that showed her how much he cared about her. _

* * *

_When Gabriella was finished relaxing in the tub, she wrapped her towel around her and smiled when she saw that Troy had slipped a tampon under the door for her. He was so sweet to care about her girly needs without teasing or acting immature. After drying off and putting on her underwear, she walked out of the bathroom to see Troy sitting on his bed in his boxers._

_"Hey, you lied. You said you didn't run around naked anymore." Troy looked at Gabriella, who hadn't bothered to wrap her towel around herself again. She knew that her boyfriend would be the only one in his room and that he would have one of his shirts already out for her to quickly slip on before climbing into bed with him._

_"I don't in front of just anyone. I'm just comfortable around you." Gabriella grabbed the Wildcats t-shirt that was on Troy's bed and threw it on, then jumped onto the bed and got under the covers. _

_Troy joined Gabriella beneath the blankets, only to notice that her t-shirt and bra were still on the bed. "Oh, Brie, you'd better do something with these. I don't want my parents to find out we were touching each other or, worse, think that we went further."_

_Gabriella took her things and, leaning over the side of the bed, tossed them into her overnight bag. "There. Now all the evidence is gone." She giggled and snuggled up to Troy, resting her head on his bare chest._

_"Does my princess want a good night kiss?" Troy inquired as he wrapped his arms around Gabriella's waist._

_"If my Wildcat want to give me one," Gabriella giggled._

_"Of course." With a smile, Troy leaned down and kissed his girlfriend's lips before drawing her even closer to him than she already was and running his fingers through her hair. _

_Silence passed over the two teenagers for a few moments until Gabriella asked, "Wildcat, could you sing to me?"_

_"Brie..." Troy was about to protest, but when Gabriella lifted her head briefly to look at him with a pleading expression, he just couldn't say no. "What do you want me to sing?"_

_"Something sweet, and maybe from High School Musical." _

_"Baby girl, do I really have to sing High School Musical?"_

_Gabriella let out a soft giggle. "You were singing it to me when I was falling asleep at school today."_

_"That was High School Musical? I knew I'd heard it before, but I wasn't sure where. I should've known, though. You've made me watch those movies too many times." Troy kissed Gabriella's forehead and nuzzled his nose into her hair, taking in the scent of it. _

_"So, are you gonna sing something to me?" queried Gabriella._

_"Yeah, I will." Troy took a second to think of one of the High School Musical songs that he remembered from when Gabriella had made him watch the movies, then began to sing:_

_When I hear my favorite song,_

_I know that we belong._

_Oh, you are the music in me._

_Smiling to herself, Gabriella allowed her eyelids to drop over her eyes and sleep to overtake her. She would undoubtedly be asking her boyfriend to sing to her a lot. _

As she had expected, there were groups of teenagers whispering in the hall, occasionally glancing over at her and Troy. She knew they were talking about them. Hiding her face in Troy's shoulder, she kept trying to shut everything out and focus on the sound of Troy's voice when he had sung to her or the feeling of his gentle touches and kisses on her body.

"It's okay, sweetheart," Troy whispered as he pressed a kiss into Gabriella's hair. "I'm here."

"I-I don't want to leave you," whimpered Gabriella, releasing her hand from Troy's grip and wrapping both arms around his waist.

"Brie, you don't need to. We have homeroom together." Troy fastened one of his arms around his girlfriend's waist and used the other one to stroke her hair.

"But when we have separate classes...Wildcat, what if Chad's in one of my classes? Or what if someone brings up that I was in the school newspaper because Carissa pushed me into the pool?"

Troy let out a sigh. "If anything like that happens, tell me as soon as you can and I'll murder whoever was bothering you." He couldn't even describe how relieved he was that this week was the last week of school before spring break. After dealing with Carissa, Chad, and having detention with Ms. Darbus, he felt that both he and Gabriella deserved a relaxing break.

"But what if Chad...what if he sees me in the hall and tries to touch me?"

"If he does, he'll have to deal with me, and after what I did to him yesterday, I don't think he wants to." Lifting Gabriella off the ground, Troy settled her into his arms.

A safe, secure feeling swept over Gabriella at the feeling of Troy holding her. When his strong arms were around her, she felt like nothing and nobody could even come close to harming her. Nuzzling her nose into his shoulder, she closed her eyes for a moment, inhaling his intoxicating scent.

"Let's go to our lockers, sweetheart," suggested Troy. He carried Gabriella to where their lockers were. Once he had gotten all the things he needed from his, he tried to set Gabriella down. However, she just clung to him. "What's wrong, baby girl?" Troy ran his fingers through Gabriella's curls.

Whimpering, Gabriella buried her face deeper into her boyfriend's shoulder and clung to him tighter, her nails digging into his skin.

Looking beside him, Troy saw why Gabriella was so nervous. Chad was standing no more than three feet away from them. He quickly shot him a warning glare.

"Don't put me down," begged Gabriella.

"I won't, I promise, Brie," Troy assured, leaning over slightly so Gabriella could unlock the lock on her locker and take out what she needed while still staying in his arms. Once she had completed that task, he carried her halfway to homeroom, then made a second attempt to put her down.

"No, keep holding me, Wildcat," Gabriella pleaded.

Troy didn't protest. Instead, he just kept walking toward homeroom. He was planning to convince Gabriella to get down once they got into the classroom, but his plans were destroyed when he saw Chad sitting only a desk behind the space Gabriella normally sat at. Evidentially, he had just come to the school for the later classes the previous day, for he had not been in their homeroom or any of their classes until this point.

"Brie, I think you need to get down now," Troy announced quietly. "I'll sit in front of Chad and you can sit in the space next to me, the one I normally sit in. And I'll hold your hand the entire time, okay?"

Nodding in agreement, Gabriella permitted Troy to place her back on the ground and lead her to where their desks were.

* * *

Homeroom went fine. Chad didn't dare do anything to Gabriella with Ms. Darbus' sharp eye on him and Troy directly in front of him, ready to turn around and murder him at any second. However, Gabriella still wanted Troy to walk with her to her next class. Once there, she noticed that Chad wasn't in the class, so she relaxed. After kissing Troy good-bye, she walked to her desk and sat down.

During the class, a few of the cheerleaders giggling over the article about Gabriella in the newspaper, though that was the full extent of the damage done. But once the bell rang and Gabriella cautiously made her way into the hall, she was met with Chad. Trembling with fear, she snuck into the middle of a crowd of students, trying her hardest to stay unnoticed.

It failed.

Chad silently pushed his way into the crowd and grabbed Gabriella's arm. Clapping a hand over her mouth, he dragged her into an empty room, the other students that Gabriella had hid in the center of continuing to walk in the direction they were going. Evidentially, they were too caught up in their gossip to notice what was happening.

"Let's see if what everyone says about the kind of underwear you wear is true," Chad announced.

Gabriella began to kick and push, desperately trying to shake Chad off of her. There was no way she was going to let him pull her pants down.

"Wow, I never expected shy Gabriella to put up this much of a fight," mocked Chad as he pushed Gabriella against a wall. Taking his hand away from her mouth, he pinned her arms down and stood with his legs on either side of hers to prevent her from kicking him. Then, he put his hands on the zipper of her jeans and started to pull it down, Gabriella screaming in protest, tears dripping down her cheeks.

"Hey! What are you doing, you fucking bastard?" Troy stormed into the room, anger glittering in his eyes and his body tensing up. Tearing Chad off of Gabriella, he jumped onto him and began to punch his face. "You fucking pervert!" he shouted. "How dare you touch my girlfriend like that!"

Chad struggled under Troy's grasp until he was able to bring up a fist and slam it into Troy's eye.

Sharp pain stung Troy's face, but he ignored it. If Chad would've gotten Gabriella's pants off, he would've done who knows what to her.

A large crowd of students began to gather in the doorway, observing the fight.

Troy kicked Chad's legs while allowing his fist to make contact with his shoulder.

"Hey! Bolton! Get the fuck off of me!" Chad demanded, punching Troy in the cheek.

"Boys!" a sharp voice called. It was the principal, who had just so happening to be walking to the bathrooms from his office when he'd noticed what was going on. "Break it up." He marched over to Troy and Chad and forced them apart. "I have no idea what that was about, but it was unacceptable. Both of you are suspended for the rest of the week."

"Principal Matsui, he tried to pull my girlfriend's pants down," Troy announced, fury thick in his tone. His hands balled into fists until his knuckles were white.

"Is that true, Danforth?" the principal inquired, turning toward Chad.

"No," Chad lied.

"Well, one of you isn't telling me the truth, and besides that fact, there's still never an excuse to fight like you two were. I'm calling your parents to pick you up immediately and you're not to return until after spring break. Now come with me."

"Troy!" Gabriella cried, rushing over to Troy and clinging to him, her body shaking with sobs. "I-It was so scary...he...he could've raped me...T-Troy..."

"I'm here," soothed Troy. "I'm here." He looked at Principal Matsui. "Can my girlfriend come with me? I think it would be good for her to go home, too."

Principal Matsui nodded. "Yes, she can come. I would like her to tell me what happened, anyway, while I'm waiting for your parents to come get you."

Troy lifted Gabriella into his arms and carried her to the principal's office, allowing her tears to soak his shirt.

Troy, Gabriella, and even Chad remained quiet while Principal Matsui called Troy and Chad's parents. When he was finished on the phone, he sat down in his desk chair. "Now, Miss Montez, do you mind telling me what happened?"

Gabriella didn't respond. Instead, she just clung to Troy crying.

"Miss Montez?" the principal prompted.

"Brie, sweetheart, you need to tell him what happened," Troy spoke gently. "I know it's gonna be hard for you, but he needs to hear so that he can help." He slowly rubbed Gabriella's back as he kissed the top of her head.

After hesitating for a moment, Gabriella managed to lift her head from Troy's shoulder and speak. "C-Chad d-dragged me...h-he dragged me i-into a r-room a-and...a-and..." She broke off, unable to continue.

"Did he try to pull down your pants?" Principal Matsui queried.

Gabriella nodded before hiding her face in the crook of Troy's neck.

"What a baby," Chad muttered under his breath, apparently not understanding the trauma he had caused to come over poor Gabriella.

"Did you say something, Danforth?" asked Principal Matsui as he adjusted his glasses.

"No, I didn't say anything at all," came Chad's response.

_Liar,_ Troy thought to himself. He had heard exactly what words Chad had uttered.

Silence washed over the room until Lucille entered to collect Troy and Gabriella. "Hi," she said to the principal. "I'm Lucille Bolton, Troy's mom."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Principal Matsui smiled, holding out his hand for Lucille to shake.

Lucille shook Principal Matsui's hand. "Is it alright if I take Troy and Gabriella home now?"

"Certainly. I'll call you later today to discuss with either you or your husband what exactly went on today. I can tell you right now, though, that Troy's suspended for the rest of the week."

"Okay. Well, thanks. It was nice meeting you." Lucille's head was filled with questions, but she knew she wouldn't get answers to the at that moment. Turning toward Troy, she motioned for him and Gabriella to follow her out the door.

Troy stood up, Gabriella still in his arms, and trailed after his mother. No one spoke until they reached the car.

"Now what happened, Troy?" Lucille questioned as she pulled out of the parking lot.

"I caught Chad with Gabriella in a room trying to pull her pants down, so I fought him," explained Troy. A fresh feeling of rage overtook him once more.

"He was trying to pull her pants down?" Lucille was incredulous. "That must've been horrible for Gabriella! Is she okay?"

"Well, she's clinging to me and she was crying, so I think she's pretty scared." Troy looked at his girlfriend, who, although buckled into her seat, had her arms around his waist and her head in his shoulder.

"I would be, too," Lucille remarked. "Though I do think that instead of starting a fight, you should've taken Gabriella to the principal and you two could've explained everything to him."

"But Mom, I couldn't just let Chad go," Troy insisted. "He was torturing Brie, and no one does that and gets away with it."

Lucille didn't know what to say. She understood that her son was upset, but didn't see how he could think fighting was the best solution to the problem.

* * *

Once at Troy's house, Troy walked with Gabriella to her home so she could tell her dad about what had happened. As was expected, David was beyond furious and told Troy that he was proud of him for giving Chad a good beating and announced that he would happily give him a second one if he ever saw him.

"Gabby, I think I want you to stay here for the rest of the day. Troy can stay with you if he's allowed, but after what happened, I just want you home," David said, holding out his arms to hug his daughter.

Gabriella slid off of Troy's lap and hugged her father.

"I can't believe anyone would do that to my daughter." David sounded just as furious as Troy.

When David let go of her, Gabriella went back to cuddle in Troy's lap. "Can you stay here?" she requested.

"Of course. My mom will understand that I wanna be with you. Now how about we go upstairs and take a short nap?"

"And do something about your eye." Gabriella looked at Troy's black eye, which was swollen halfway shut.

"No, my eye's fine," Troy responded, rising from his seat and heading up to Gabriella's room, where he pulled back the covers, placed her on her bed, and tucked her in.

"No, Wildcat..." Gabriella sprung out of bed and, taking Troy's hand, led him to her bathroom, where she wet a small towel with cold water and handed it to him. "Here. Use it for your eye."

"Thanks, Brie," smiled Troy. Although he had insisted that he didn't need anything for his swollen bruise, he couldn't help but be relieved at the feeling of the towel against his eye.

Troy and Gabriella headed back over to Gabriella's bed, where they got under the covers. Gabriella immediately snuggled far into Troy's side and clung to him, her cheek resting on his chest. "Sing to me, Wildcat."

Without a moment of hesitation, Troy began to softly sing:

_We're soaring, flying, _

_There's not a star in heaven that we can't reach._

_If we're trying,_

_Yeah, we're breaking free._

Before she knew it, Gabriella was fast asleep, all thoughts of Chad temporarily pushed out of her mind.

* * *

**I hope this wasn't too much drama. If it was, I apologize and I promise the drama will die down for a while and it'll be all fluff again:) And the beginning...not too sure if it was too much of a mature scene between Troyella, but anyway, just to tell you, I'm starting school next Monday (August 29), so my update schedule is going to get crazy. I'm going to be a junior this year and I'm also going to be working part time in addition to ballet and working to get my drivers' license. For those of you who've been reading my fics for a while, you know how I am during the school year, but I'm just giving a warning for any new readers that I really have a hectic schedule and my updates will be very unplanned on both this story and **_**Forever.**_** Sometimes I'll be able to update once a month, sometimes it'll be three months between each update. I apologize in advance for slow updates. I have one more week before school and during that time, I'll definitely update each fic at least once more before school starts.**

**Oh, and random Zanessa fact: Did you know that one time, Zac got Vanessa an electric scooter and they attached a rope from it to Zac's skateboard and Vanessa rode the scooter while dragging Zac behind her on the skateboard? I was reading about that and it said that they crashed a lot, but had a good time. LOL. I don't know why, I just found that amusing:)**

**Hope you liked it and remember to hit the button below!**


	35. Spring Break

Because Troy was suspended from school for the remainder of the week, Gabriella stayed home. Although Chad was suspended as well, she couldn't help thinking that he, knowing Troy wouldn't be with her, would sneak into East High and try to harass her.

The rest of the week was fun for Troy and Gabriella. They took turns sleeping over at each other's houses, where they worked on getting their things packed for the trip they were taking for three days over spring break, cuddled, and made out. They especially enjoyed the times when there were no parents home and they could make out wherever they wanted. The living room, the dining room, even the kitchen. Nowhere was off limits.

"I think I have everything," Gabriella announced as she took her two large bags that were overflowing with clothes, shoes, hair accessories, and miscellaneous items out to Troy's car.

"Brie, we're going away for three days, not three months. I don't even understand why you need this much," Troy remarked as he placed his single bag into the trunk. Troy's parents, Gabriella's dad, Troy, and Gabriella were going to a resort an hour away from Albuquerque for a short spring vacation. Lucille, who still kept in touch with Gabriella's mom, had offered to let her come as well, but she had refused, saying that she wouldn't even be in the same building as her ex-husband.

"Yeah," began Gabriella. "But I need an extra change of clothes, some homework I need to catch up on, and a dress and nice sandals in case my wonderful boyfriend decides to take me out on a date." She smiled at Troy while putting her things in the trunk.

"Oh, so you're expecting me to take out, are you?"

"Well, yeah," admitted Gabriella. "I mean, we've only been on one date other than the times we went to school dances. I think it's about time for you to take me out to dinner or to the movies or something."

A guilty feeling washed over Troy as he realized that he really had neglected to take Gabriella out on a date since the very first time they'd gone out as a couple. "I'm sorry I haven't taken you anywhere in a while, Brie," he apologized. "I promise that we'll do something while we're away." He smiled.

"Thanks."

Troy took Gabriella's hand in his and led her to the backseat of the car. Opening the door, he climbed in along with her.

In a minute, Jack and David came out of the Bolton house. After tossing their things in the trunk, Jack got into the drivers' seat while David took the third spot in the back with Troy and Gabriella.

"We're just waiting for your mom, Troy," said Jack. "She's fixing her make-up."

Troy let out an irritated sigh, but didn't say anything.

Five minutes passed before Lucille walked out the door holding a large tote bag and a suitcase. Once both the items were secured inside the trunk, she opened the passenger door and sat beside her husband.

"Okay, I think we're good to go now," Jack spoke. When no one disagreed with him, he pulled out of the driveway and started the drive to the resort.

* * *

Troy and Gabriella rushed into their hotel room and, tossing their bags in a corner, hopped onto the bed. After thinking it over, the parents had decided that Troy and Gabriella could have a small room to themselves while Jack, Lucille, and David stayed in a two bedroom suite next door to them. However, the two teenagers were expected to check in with their parents every so often and be in bed by eleven-thirty. If any noise was heard from them in the suite next door past that time, one of the parents would come over to see what was going on.

Pulling Gabriella into his lap, Troy stroked her hair and pressed a kiss onto her forehead. "So, what do you wanna do after lunch?" It was decided that, once they were settled into their rooms, Troy, Gabriella, and their parents would go out to lunch.

"We could go to the water park," suggested Gabriella. At the resort, there was a large water park along with many other fun things such as an arcade, a small bowling alley, a gym, and a lake for fishing and boating.

"Do I get to see you in your bikini?" Troy inquired.

"Nope, sorry, Wildcat," giggled Gabriella. "I don't feel comfortable wearing that in front of a bunch of people at a crowded pool. I only use it when it's just us and friends."

"Well, at least I get to see you in a bathing suit," Troy shrugged.

"Wildcat, I don't know why you want to see me in a bikini so bad. You get to see me half-naked whenever we make out."

"Oh, that's the best," Troy responded as his mind filled with the memories of all the times he had made out with his girlfriend.

"Hey!" Gabriella playfully smacked Troy's arm.

"You know, you're asking for it." Smiling, Troy began to tickle Gabriella's stomach.

Breaking free from Troy's grasp, Gabriella jumped off the bed and darted across the room. Giggling, she announced, "You'll never be able to get me!"

"We'll see about that!" Troy ran after his girlfriend and, cornering her, started to run his fingers lightly across her stomach again.

"Troy, stop!" begged Gabriella. Tears of laughter ran down her cheeks as she struggled to escape from Troy.

"Never!" Lifting Gabriella into his arms, Troy carried her back to the bed. where he continued to tickle her.

"Wildcat, stop, please!" Gabriella pleaded. "I need to get ready for lunch."

"Fine." Troy crossed his arms over his chest, pretending to be angry. "But this isn't over, Brie."

* * *

After a delicious lunch of ham and cheese sandwiches on Kaiser rolls, potato salad, and chocolate cake, Troy and Gabriella told their parents about their plan to hang out at the water park for a little while, then went to their room to get into their swimsuits.

"Are you ready?" queried Troy when he and Gabriella had finished getting changed, which had taken a little longer than it should have. Since they were comfortable with it, they had done their changing in front of each other, and that had resulted in some staring, especially from Troy.

"Yeah," came Gabriella's reply.

"Let's go, then." Taking his girlfriend's hand, Troy led her out of the room. It wasn't long before they reached the water park, where lots of people were gathered. Toddlers splashed in the shallow end while teenagers and young adults stood in line for the water slides.

"How about we put our stuff over there?" suggested Gabriella, referring to the shorts she was wearing over her swimsuit and the t-shirt Troy had thrown on. She pointed in the direction of an empty beach chair.

"Sounds good." Following Gabriella over to the chair, Troy removed his shirt and placed it on it.

After taking her shorts off, Gabriella put her hands on her boyfriend's chest and stood on her toes to kiss his lips. "Your body's hot," she complimeted.

"Thank you, sweetheart," Troy smirked playfully as he leaned over slightly and motioned for Gabriella to get onto his back.

Giggling, Gabriella climbed onto Troy, her legs wrapping around his waist and her arms making their way around his neck.

Troy stepped into the cool, clear water. "You ready to have fun?"

"Don't drop me," warned Gabriella.

Playfulness glittered in Troy's ocean colored eyes as he kept walking until he was in the deepest part of the pool he could stand in without the water coming up over his head. Then, he unwound Gabriella's arms from his neck, causing her to fall off his back and submerge underwater.

"Wildcat! I told you not to do that!" Gabriella scolded teasingly when she came up.

"Come on the slide with me," Troy said.

"Honey, you know I don't really like water slides," sighed Gabriella.

"Then we'll go down together. You can cuddle in my lap and everything will be just fine. You like to cuddle, right?"

"I love cuddling, but I'd really rather not go on the slide," came Gabriella's response. "Please don't make me." She gave Troy a cute pout, knowing that, considering how whipped he was, he would take back his request.

"Alright, you don't have to, cutie," Troy decided, smiling at his new nickname for his girlfriend. "But that's only thanks to your adorable pout."

A small giggle escaped Gabriella's lips. "I really have you whipped, don't I?"

"Unfortunately, yes, you do," laughed Troy. "I can never say 'no' to you again."

* * *

When Troy and Gabriella were done swimming, they went to the door of their parents' suite to ask what time they were going out for dinner. Lucille told them it wasn't going to be for another couple hours, so Troy and Gabriella went to their room, deciding to shower, change, and hang out for a little while.

"Can I shower first?" asked Gabriella.

"Can I shower with you?" Troy requested.

"No," Gabriella answered, walking in the direction of the bathroom.

"Can I watch you take off your swimsuit?"

"You know, you're crazy asking all these questions," giggled Gabriella. "And no, I'm not walking around naked after I'm done my shower, and no, tonight you're not taking my shirt off to play with my breasts if we make out."

"But Brie, we're on vacation in a room by ourselves. This is the time to do stuff like that."

"Wildcat, you know I love it when you touch me. It makes me feel a whole lot better about my body since I'm not comfortable with the way it looks at all, but I just want a snuggle day with you today. We've been having heavy make-out sessions a lot lately and I think it would be nice just to have innocent cuddles at bedtime. Tomorrow we can be a little naughtier if you want." She giggled. "But only a little, like making out. No showers or anything like that."

"Sweetheart, you have nothing to be embarrassed about. You look hot naked." Smiling, he winked flirtatiously. "And you're right," Troy agreed finally. "We haven't been focusing on the more romantic areas of our relationship lately. We need to take a day off of concentrating on the physical areas of our relationship. And to help with that, I'll take you out on a romantic date tomorrow." He smiled.

Gabriella was a little disappointed that Troy had called her 'hot' instead of 'beautiful' or 'gorgeous,' but she didn't say anything about it. Instead, she inquired, "Where are you taking me?"

"It's a surprise," smiled Troy.

"You don't know where you're taking me yet, do you?" Gabriella guessed.

"Uh...of course I do," Troy replied hesitantly. "It's just a surprise."

"He doesn't know," Gabriella concluded quietly to herself, giggling and and shaking her head, as she shut and locked the bathroom door behind her and started her shower.

* * *

That night, Troy climbed into bed in a pair of basketball shorts and a t-shirt and waited for Gabriella to come out of the bathroom, where she was getting her pajamas on. Since they had decided to take the time they had alone before bed to have bonding time rather than just make out, they were making sure that they were sleeping in enough clothes that they wouldn't be tempted to kiss and touch.

"Hey, Brie," Troy greeted as Gabriella stepped out of the bathroom in a dark pink tank top and a pair of her own grey sweatpants that had the word "love" spelled down the right leg in bold white letters.

"Hey," said Gabriella, getting under the covers beside Troy and cuddling up to him.

"So, having fun so far?"

Gabriella nodded.

Troy smiled and, wrapping his arms around her, kissed her forehead and nuzzled his nose into her shoulder. "My baby girl," he murmured.

"My sweet Troy," sighed Gabriella, resting her head on top of Troy's.

"You're so beautiful, Brie, but at the same time, you're such a cutie and I love being around you. You're the best girlfriend ever."

Gabriella lifted her head up and leaned down to press a kiss onto her boyfriend's cheek and push his hair out of his face. "You look tired," she remarked.

Yawning, Troy ran his fingers through Gabriella's dark curls. "I am."

"Well then, why don't we go to bed? You need to be well rested tomorrow for that date you're taking me on. And speaking of the date, do you know where you're taking me yet?"

"It's a surprise."

"Awww, come on. Could I please have a hint? Just a little one?"

"No," came Troy's firm response. "If I gave you a hint, then it wouldn't be a surprise."

Gabriella forced a cute pout onto her face. "You're mean," she teased.

"You know, you're just asking to be tickled." Troy slowly ran his fingers lightly up Gabriella's arm, causing giggles to burst from her mouth.

"Stop, Wildcat. Please," begged Gabriella as Troy moved his hand toward her stomach and tickled her harder.

"Not until you tell me that you my kisses are the best."

"That's so easy!" laughed Gabriella. "Wildcat, your kisses are the best."

"Thanks, baby girl. Now, you have a good night." Troy kissed Gabriella on the lips.

Kissing Troy back, Gabriella announced, "I always have a good night when I'm in your arms."

* * *

The next evening, Gabriella stepped out of the bathroom in a yellow sundress that flowed to her knees and coordinated with her tanned skin perfectly. Her feet were in flat white sandals and her hair was tied up into a bun with a few curly wisps loose and falling onto the side of her face. Her make-up was simple, yet beautiful, and both her fingernails and her toenails were painted light blue.

"Wow. You look amazing, Brie," Troy complimented as he kissed Gabriella on the lips and held out his hand for her to take. "Absolutely amazing."

Taking Troy's hand, Gabriella smiled and allowed him to lead her out the door, curious about what was contained inside the plastic grocery bag he had in his free hand. However, she didn't dare ask any questions, for she knew what his answer would be.

After heading out the door and walking down the sidewalk for about ten minutes, Troy stopped and directed Gabriella toward a vacant meadow with a slight hill, over which the full moon was rising into the already dark sky.

"It's beautiful here," Gabriella remarked, turning her head from left to right and up and down, a bright smile on her face.

"You're beautiful," Troy murmured, nuzzling his nose into Gabriella's hair.

Silence passed over the young couple for a moment.

Letting out a contented sigh, Troy reached into his bag and pulled out a bouquet of twelve red roses. Placing it in Gabriella's hand, he said, "These are for you."

"Thank you so much," smiled Gabriella, tears welling in her eyes at the overwhelming feeling of happiness that was rushing through her. "All this is honestly amazing."

"Well, that's not all, Brie. I brought some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and chocolate bars to eat. Here, have a seat. Sorry I don't have a blanket."

"It's okay." Gabriella sat down with her legs underneath her and gently set her roses down in the soft grass beside her.

"This is your sandwich," Troy announced, passing a sandwich to his girlfriend. "And this is your chocolate bar." He handed her the securely wrapped item.

"Thank you so much, honey. I absolutely love all this."

"Anything for you, Brie. Anything for you." A smile crossed Troy's face as he leaned in to kiss Gabriella.

* * *

When they reached their room again after finishing their picnic, Gabriella found herself trapped on the bed beneath Troy, his lips attached to hers.

"Mmmm, Brie," Troy mumbled, his hands traveling to the hem of Gabriella's dress. When she nodded her consent, he climbed off of her and lifted it over her head. Next, he removed her bra and, cupping one of her breasts in his hand, kissed around her nipple.

"That feels good," moaned Gabriella, running her hands along Troy's already bare abs. She could feel the muscles rippling through them.

"You like that?" Troy moved his lips to the center of Gabriella's breast and started to suck on it. After sucking for a minute, he moved back up to her lips.

"Wildcat...let me try something, please," Gabriella spoke.

"Alright."

Gently pushing Troy down onto the bed, Gabriella started by kissing his chest, then moved down until she was at the top of his boxers. When he was moaning, she straddled him and leaned down so that her breasts were dangling in front of his eyes.

"Brie..." Troy breathed, reaching up to place one hand over each of her breasts, "Please tell me that you'll sleep like this tonight."

"Just in my panties? Honey, I don't know...what if it leads to uh...other things?"

"It won't. I promise." Troy kissed Gabriella's nose.

"Alright, then," agreed Gabriella, crawling over to the top of the covers and getting under.

"We're going to sleep now?"

Gabriella shrugged. "We might as well."

"Okay." Troy joined Gabriella beneath the blankets and wrapped both his arms around her. Nuzzling his nose into her breasts, he kissed them lightly, earning quiet giggles from his girlfriend. Soon, however, her giggling stopped, and one look at her face told him that she was fast asleep. Letting out a sleepy sigh, Troy closed his eyes and permitted sleep to wash over him as well.

* * *

When Troy and Gabriella returned from their vacation, they decided to have a day to hang out with their friends before school started up again. After discussing things with everyone, they concluded that they would meet at Sharpay and Ryan's house. That way there were video games for the guys and all sorts of nail polish colors for the girls.

"Yes! I won again!" exclaimed Troy as he set his controller down on the sofa and, standing up, jumped into the air.

"Rematch?" Zeke suggested.

Troy, Ryan, and Jason agreed, so another round of the game began.

Letting out an irritated sigh, Sharpay inquired, "Do you girls all want to get out of the boys' 'game zone?' They're kind of ignoring us."

"Sure," Kelsi answered.

Gabriella, Martha, and Taylor also told Sharpay that they wanted to take a break from watching the guys play their video games, so all the girls headed up the steps and into Sharpay's bedroom.

"So, how are things with you and Troy going?" Taylor queried, turning to Gabriella.

Blushing, Gabriella replied, "Amazing. He hasn't told me he loves me yet, but I think he really does. He took me out on a moonlight picnic when we were away. It was so romantic. He even gave me a bouquet of roses."

"Awww!" Sharpay squealed as she grabbed a bottle of hot pink nail polish. After shaking it up a bit, she untwisted the lid. "That's so cute! Zeke hasn't gotten as far as giving me roses yet. He's given me lots of chocolate chip cookies, though, which I'm very grateful for because he makes the _best_ cookies ever."

"I wish I had a boyfriend," remarked Taylor. "But no one seems to be interested in me." She let out a disappointed sigh and rested her chin on the palm of her hand.

"Don't worry. You'll have one soon," Martha comforted. "And hopefully it's one that's smarter than Jason."

Everyone burst out laughing.

"Don't get me wrong, Jason's a great guy, just...dumber than dirt."

"Poor Jason," Kelsi giggled.

"Sharpay, do you mind if I go down and grab a cup of water?" Gabriella asked.

"No, not at all. Go ahead," came Sharpay's response.

Standing up, Gabriella started to head downstairs, but stopped partway as she the sound of the guys talking reached her ears. And what they were having wasn't an innocent coversation.

"Yeah, I've sucked her breast before," Troy was saying.

"Really? Dude, that's awesome! Does she have hot boobs?" said Ryan.

"Oh, yeah. They're amazing. They're really perky and round and her nipples are like...really big. Make me hard every time I see her topless. And I love when she moves around when we're making out and her breasts bounce. It's so hot."

Gabriella, who was thoroughly angered at this point, walked the rest of the way down the steps and into the living room. "Troy," she began sharply, her lips set into a firm line and her arms crossed tightly over her chest. "We need to talk. Come in here with me." She pointed to the kitchen.

As he stood up, Troy's heart started racing. He didn't know how much Gabriella had heard, but he did know that he was going to get it good. Following her into the kitchen, he took a deep breath. "Yeah, sweetheart?"

"I heard what you were telling the guys and I have to say that you're a jerk. I don't appreciate you telling others what we do together. They don't need to know. That's supposed to be between me and you only. And another thing I don't appreciate is you saying that I have a hot body. I don't like the word 'hot.' In fact, I _hate_ it. It just screams disrespect and-"

"But Brie, you call me hot sometimes," protested Troy.

"Well, what I am supposed to say? You have a handsome body? 'Hot' is more of a word for girls to decscribe their boyfriends. 'Beautiful' or 'gorgeous' is what girls like to be called. And I find it very...odd...that you say I'm beautiful when I'm dressed, but as soon as I'm naked, I suddenly become hot. What is with that?"

"Brie, I'm a guy. I think like that."

"That's another thing. I'm tired of that 'I'm a guy' excuse! You use it for everything! Now, I don't want to break up with you, but I do have to say that because we can't handle being uh...intimate in a mature way, we need to keep clothes on around each other. Obviously we're not ready to do stuff like get naked together."

Troy was disappointed that there would be no more heavy making out between himself and his girlfriend, but he perfectly understood her reason for not wanting to do that. "I get it, Brie. And I know why you don't want to do anything like that for a while. It's all my fault. I know I do get carried away with things sometimes and that I need to control myself. I'm truly sorry I hurt you by doing this. Can you forgive me?"

"Yes, I'll forgive you this time, Wildcat. I would miss you too much if I stayed mad." She giggled. "But next time something like this happens, you won't get off so easy."

"I promise that nothing like this will ever happen again. It can't. You know why?"

"Why?" Gabriella's brown eyes met Troy's.

"Because I couldn't stand to live without you." With those words, Troy leaned forward to kiss Gabriella sweetly on the lips.

Gabriella smiled and returned her boyfriend's kiss.

* * *

**Sorry I kind of ruined the fluff by the little argument Troy and Gabriella had, but I wanted to find an excuse to have them not heavily make out for a while. I keep forgetting they're only freshmen, and while I understand that at that age some teenagers get curious and want to try things, I think Troyella are a little young for sexual things. I feel that if I kept making them make out like that, it would eventually seem like I was dragging things out as long as possible when in reality, they would probably not have waited longer than six months to a year to make love after doing that kind of thing and I don't want them to end up sleeping together in sophomore year, so that's why I'm taking a break from the "naughty" scenes in this story. If you want more M-rated things, I am going to write an M-rated oneshot kind of soon since I really need to work on M-rated scenes, so keep looking for that:)**

**Please review!**


	36. Finals

Gabriella was lying on her stomach, her chin resting on her right palm and her feet in the air. Her chocolate eyes were looking down at her geography textbook, studying the words that were typed in tiny print. It was almost time for finals, and she not only wanted to pass them, she wanted to excel. Because of that, she hadn't studied with or had a sleepover with Troy in the past five days, as that would only distract her from studying.

_Knock, knock._

Startled by the sudden rap on her balcony door, Gabriella quickly sat up and looked through the glass to see Troy standing there, a bag in his hand. "Come in, it's unlocked," she called out.

Opening the door, Troy walked into his girlfriend's room. "Hey, beautiful," he said, greeting her with a short, sweet kiss on the lips before taking a seat beside her and wrapping an arm around her waist. "I brought you something." Reaching into the bag, he pulled out a small bouquet of flowers and a chocolate bar. "I picked the flowers from my mom's garden, so they're fresh," he explained, handing them to her. "And also, here's some bubble bath." Once again, he put his hand into the bag and, this time, took out a small bottle. "You've been studying so hard lately, I thought you would need to relax. So I was thinking maybe I could go and run you a hot bath with bubbles, then after your bath, you could get your pajamas on and let me give you a massage."

Gabriella let out a sigh. "That sounds wonderful, Wildcat, but I don't have time to relax. I really need to study." Her eyes briefly darted to her textbook, which was still open. "But I'll still take the flowers and chocolate." She smiled.

Troy handed the bouquet and the chocolate bar to his girlfriend and watched as she held the fragrant flowers to her nose. "But you've been studying for days, Brie. You have to relax sometime." He gently took her hand and laced his fingers with hers.

"I'll relax after finals are over," came Gabriella's response.

"But sweetheart...sweetheart, look at me for a minute."

Gabriella turned her face toward Troy's.

"Baby girl, you have dark circles under your pretty eyes. You're tired. You need to relax."

"I already told you. I can't relax right now."

Troy lifted Gabriella into his strong arms and, placing her in his lap, nuzzled his nose her shoulder, which was almost bare as she was wearing a deep purple spaghetti strap dress that reached just below her knees. To school, she had worn a cropped short-sleeved knitted wrap sweater over it since spaghetti straps weren't allowed in school, but she'd taken that off when she had gotten home. "Just take an hour to rest. Please, Brie."

"No."

"Half an hour?" Troy tried.

"No."

"Fifteen minutes?"

"Fine," said Gabriella. "Fifteen minutes. But no more than that because I really need to keep studying." Silence settled over the room for a minute before she spoke again. "Wildcat?"

"Yeah?"

"Why aren't you studying?"

"Because I'm not a nerd," he answered playfully.

"Hey!" Gasping dramatically, Gabriella teasingly smacked Troy on the arm. "Are you saying that I'm a nerd?" She turned around partially so that she was looking at him, but still settled in his lap.

"Yes, you are." Troy pressed a kiss into Gabriella's dark curls. "But that's just one of the many things I love about you. I mean, if you weren't a nerd, whose answers would I copy?"

"You're not supposed to be copying my answers!" exclaimed Gabriella, smacking Troy's arm again. "When did you copy?"

"Um...I've never copied..." Troy attempted.

"You liar," said Gabriella, amusement glittering in her eyes.

"Hey! Don't call me a liar! If you do it again, I'm gonna have to make you give me a kiss, and I know you don't want to do that."

"Liar," Gabriella repeated.

"Well, I warned you, and you know what you have to do now." Troy leaned in until his lips were only millimeters away from Gabriella's. "You have to kiss me," he whispered, one hand coming up to caress her cheek.

"I _have _to?"

Troy nodded, a smile pasted on his face.

"What happens if I don't?"

"Simple. Then I'll kiss you." Troy shrugged. "And then hold you and hug you and take you home with me so we can finally cuddle up in bed and you can fall asleep in my arms."

"Mmmm, that sounds nice, but-"

"You talked before you kissed me," Troy pointed out. "Now that means that I need to kiss you and take you back to my house for a sleepover. And since we'll be at my house, you need to follow my rules, and one of my rules is that you can't study." He winked playfully before connecting his lips with Gabriella's for a few seconds.

"Troy!" pouted Gabriella. "I can't sleep over. I really _have_ to study and I think fifteen minutes is up, so I'm gonna have to kick you out." She climbed off his lap, then made her way over to her balcony door and opened it. "Bye, Wildcat. I'll see you in the morning."

Letting out a defeated sigh, Troy slowly walked through the doorway. "Bye, baby girl. I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you, too, Wildcat. But I promise that next Saturday after finals are all over with, I'll have a lazy weekend at your house with you...or maybe just a lazy Sunday if you want to be sweet and take me out to the movies Saturday night." Gabriella put on her sweetest face.

"I'm afraid we'll have to go for an entire lazy weekend, sweetheart. I'm kinda broke right now."

"Could we go on a picnic or something in place of the movies?"

"Sure." Troy smiled. "That sounds like a plan."

"Okay. Well, I really need to get back to studying now, so I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you." Troy turned around, about to climb down the tree that provided access to Gabriella's room, but then turned around, rushed back through the doors, and caught Gabriella tightly in his arms, allowing his lips to fuse with hers.

"What was that for?" Gabriella queried with a smile when Troy released her.

"I just wanted to be romantic," Troy replied, leaning in for another kiss.

* * *

**Sorry this chapter was so short! I was planning for it to be longer, but it turned out to only be this long. I know not much happened in it. It was just kind of supposed to be a cute, fluffy chapter:) But anyway...please review!**


	37. I Love You?

It was the Friday night after the last day of finals, which meant that finally, after going almost three long weeks without it, Gabriella was sleeping over at Troy's house. She couldn't wait to crawl under the covers of his bed with him and snuggle in his arms while he sang her to sleep, and to wake up in the morning to see his handsome blue eyes looking down on her, and to have him greet her with a kiss as soon as she awoke. But unfortunately, it was only six o' clock, so all that would have to wait. However, she was currently at his house, so she was getting to spend some time with him.

"Brie, baby girl, do you want that hot bath and massage I offered you while you were studying last week?" asked Troy. Currently, he and Gabriella were sitting on his bed, his arm around her waist.

"That would be nice," Gabriella, who was resting her cheek on her boyfriend's shoulder, replied.

"Let's go, then." Scooping Gabriella up in his strong arms, Troy carried her into his bathroom and set her on the counter. After kissing her forehead, he turned toward the tub and began filling it with hot water and bubbles. While it was filling up, he selected the thickest, fluffiest towel from the small closet in the corner of the room and placed it on the closed toilet lid. A few more minutes then passed before he turned off the water. "There you, go, sweetheart," he told Gabriella, brushing his lips against her cheek.

As Troy started to walk out of the bathroom, Gabriella said, "Troy, wait! Can't you stay?"

Troy looked at Gabriella. "I thought you didn't want me to see you naked anymore."

"Well, I am unhappy that you told the guys what we did together and especially that you were describing my body to them, but I haven't talked to you a lot in the past couple weeks and-"

"I understand, princess," Troy interrupted. "And again, I want to apologize for what I told the guys. I'm really, really sorry about that."

"I forgive you," Gabriella assured. "But can you stay, please? I don't want you to touch me or anything, but I don't care if you just see me naked just this once. I'm still comfortable with you; I'm just punishing you for what you did." She giggled as she slid down onto the floor.

"Well, just to tell you, I'm definitely suffering. But of course I'll stay with you, Brie." Troy took Gabriella's place atop the counter.

"Thanks." Turning her back to Troy so that it didn't look like she was stripping for him, Gabriella removed her clothes, then stepped into the relaxing water and sat down. "So, how's off-season basketball practice going?" she inquired.

"Good. The coach is going a little bit easier on us since we don't have to worry about playing games against other schools," answered Troy. He smiled at Gabriella, who was covered with bubbles all the way up to her neck. "Did I put too many bubbles in?" he asked.

Gabriella shook her head. "No. I like my baths this way." She picked up a small handful of bubbles and tossed them in Troy's direction, giggling.

Troy lowered himself back down to the floor and walked over to the tub. Kneeling beside it, he rested his arms on the edge and leaned over to kiss his girlfriend's lips, then took one of her dripping hands and laced her fingers with his. "I wish I could come in there with you..."

"Nice try," said Gabriella, playfully smacking Troy's arm. "But you have to remember that first of all, I'm punishing you, and second of all, I don't think I'm ready to have a bath with you yet. Maybe when we're older."

"Can I at least help you wash up?"

Gabriella thought for a moment. "Alright. But you're not allowed to touch my breasts or the space between my legs. I don't need you telling the guys you rubbed soap on those places." When speaking the last sentence, her tone was playful, yet serious.

"Okay. I won't touch you there," agreed Troy, pressing his lips to Gabriella's forehead. He then proceeded to grab the shampoo bottle resting on the side of the tub. After pouring some shampoo into his hands, he slowly massaged it into Gabriella's hair, taking special care not to accidentally miss even one strand. He wanted to be sure that his girlfriend got the most out of his night spoiling her.

Gabriella closed her eyes to relax and let out a satisfied sigh. "That feels good," she murmured. When a minute where she didn't feel Troy's hands in her hair passed, she leaned back to rinse the shampoo from her hair.

"You ready for soap?" asked Troy.

Gabriella nodded with a smile.

Taking the bar of soap that was next to the shampoo bottle, Troy started to rub it over Gabriella's arms, then her legs, then her back.

After rinsing the soap off, Gabriella let out a contented sigh and, leaning against the back of the tub, closed her eyes.

"Don't fall asleep in there, Brie, sweetheart," Troy said gently.

"I won't," promised Gabriella.

"Alright," Troy spoke after a short pause. "Well, you seem like you want to just relax for a little bit, so I'm gonna give you some privacy, okay?"

"Okay," Gabriella agreed.

Troy left his bathroom, then went downstairs and grabbed a quick snack. When he returned to his room, he saw Gabriella sitting on his bed in shorts and one of his t-shirts. "Hey, baby girl. I see you finished your bath. Are you ready for me to give you your massage now?"

"I'm more than ready," came Gabriella's response.

Sitting behind Gabriella, Troy began to slowly rub her shoulders, occasionally leaning forward to press kisses onto her cheeks.

Gabriella relaxed, leaned back so she was resting against Troy's chest, and allowed her eyes to close.

Troy continued to rub Gabriella's shoulders for a few more minutes, then took her hands in his and stroked her fingers with his thumb. "Are you sleepy?" he asked, noticing that his girlfriend appeared to be half-asleep.

"Mm-hm," nodded Gabriella, cuddling into Troy.

"Let's go to bed," Troy suggested, reaching over to the top of his bed to pull the covers aside. "Go ahead." He motioned for Gabriella to lie down.

Gabriella crawled over to the space where the covers were drawn back and rested her head on one of the pillows. Once Troy joined her and pulled the blankets over the both of them, she rolled over onto her side and smiled as she felt his arms wrap tightly around her waist, spooning her close to him.

"Brie," Troy started.

"Hm?"

"I never got my good night kiss."

Turning around in Troy's arms, Gabriella leaned in and connected her lips with Troy's in a sleepy kiss that lasted a bit longer than usual. "Good night," she murmured, rolling back to her original position.

"Good night," Troy whispered in return after turning off the lamp by his bed. He then nuzzled his nose into Gabriella's hair, where he pressed several sweet kisses. It wasn't long before his girlfriend's peaceful, even breathing told him she had fallen asleep. Suddenly feeling more awake than he had all day, Troy smiled to himself and decided to watch Gabriella sleep for a little while.

"Yes...Troy...I love you."

_Woah, hold on a second. Did she just say she loved me? _"I love you, too, sweetie," he responded quietly. However, Gabriella didn't react. _I guess she's not awake,_ thought Troy with a sigh. _She must've just been talking in her sleep._ Disappointment overtook him. _Oh, well...I guess there'll be other times. _He then closed his eyes and let sleep take over his body to wash away the frustration he was feeling.

* * *

**I know this one was short again, and sorry it took so long. I was upset about the whole Austin/Vanessa thing, so I didn't exactly feel like writing fluff. However, I'm back in the mood because of Zac's new movie that just came out today, which is one of the reasons why I updated! The other reason is because Vanessa's birthday is on Wednesday, so happy birthday Vanessa! The sad thing is that it's been a year since Zanessa have been apart:'( And also, I have a new M-rated oneshot, so if you're interested, go check that out!**

**Please review! Let's see if you can hit 400!**


	38. Sharpay and Ryan's Birthday Party

It was a Saturday afternoon, and Troy and Gabriella were standing on the front porch of Sharpay and Ryan's house, waiting for someone to let them in. Just three days before, the twins had turned fifteen, and that day was the day of their party.

"Hi, Troy! Hi, Gabriella!" Sharpay greeted as she swung the door open. "Come on in! Everyone else is here already." By the fact that she was wearing a cover-up dress and holding a hot pink towel, it could be guessed that the first activity on the list of things to do was swimming.

Troy and Gabriella walked inside.

"Where should we put our presents for you?" Gabriella inquired.

"Right on that table." Sharpay gestured to the coffee table in the living room. "And then if you need to get changed into your swimsuits, you can use any of the bathrooms."

"Okay." Gabriella took the presents from Troy and placed them on the table, then pulled his swim shorts from the plastic bag she was holding and tossed them to him. "Here you go."

"Thanks, Brie." Troy took Gabriella's hand.

"You guys know where the pool is, right?" Sharpay checked.

"Yeah," answered Troy.

"Alright, well, I'm gonna go back there. Whenever you're ready, you can come."

"Okay," said Gabriella.

Once Sharpay was gone from sight, Troy leaned over and whispered to Gabriella, "You're wearing your bikini, right?"

"Yeah, why?" came Gabriella's response.

"Just wondering." Troy shrugged. "And we're gonna change in the same room, right?"

"In your dreams." Gabriella drew her hand away from Troy's and slapped his arm playfully. She then pulled her bikini and two towels from her bag.

"Hey, could you give me one of those towels?" Troy asked.

Gabriella threw a towel at Troy, hitting him in the face.

"Brie!" Troy pretended to be angry.

"Well, that's what you get for acting like this." Giggling, Gabriella skipped off to the nearest bathroom and locked herself inside of it. Five minutes later she opened the door to see Troy standing there waiting. "Were you trying to peek?" she demanded.

"No..." Troy replied, distracted by Gabriella's perfect curves and bare, flat stomach. "Wow...I forgot how good you look in a bikini. I mean, I knew you looked good, but I forgot you looked _this_ good."

"Shut up, Troy."

"Hey, don't tell me to shut up!" Troy said in a playful tone as he lifted Gabriella off the floor. He then carried her into the pool area and, despite her screams and protests, tossed her into the water.

"Hey, Troy!" shouted Zeke, who was preparing to dive into the pool. Ryan and Jason echoed his greeting.

"Hey, guys!" Troy returned before jumping into the water after Gabriella.

"Why'd you do that?" asked Gabriella when she emerged from the liquid that was surrounding her and grabbed onto the side of the pool.

"I just wanted to have some fun," Troy answered with a wink and a smile.

Gabriella let out a sigh and pulled herself up and out of the water, then headed over to the shallow end, where the rest of the girls were sitting on the steps talking.

"Hi, Gabby!" Taylor greeted with a smile.

"Hey, Gabriella!" Martha and Kelsi both said simultaneously.

"What was going on with Troy?" Sharpay queried. "He just threw you in the water."

"He was going on and on about how I look so good in a bikini, so I told him to shut up. He didn't like that very much, so he threw me in the pool," explained Gabriella.

"Are you two fighting, then?" Martha wondered.

Gabriella shook her head. "No. It was actually just a playful argument. We're not really mad at each other."

"Thank goodness," Sharpay remarked. "You guys have fought too many times since I've known you."

A giggle escaped Gabriella's lips. "Yeah, well, Troy can be a little selfish and even kind of perverted at times."

"Aren't all guys like that?" Kelsi interjected.

"Yes," Martha replied loudly.

Everyone laughed.

"Well, Troy just obsesses over the physical side of our relationship. To him, the perfect date would be laying in bed half-naked making out. He always wants to be looking at my body and touching it and kissing me. I mean, I don't mind the kissing at all, but sometimes the touching gets to be a little...much. I don't mind if he wants to cuddle me, hug me, or even touch my legs or hips and places like that. But the thing with him is that he always wants to touch my breasts. He literally obsesses over it. Until I banned him from it because of what he told the guys, he would always-"

"What did he tell the guys?" Taylor interrupted.

"He was giving a very detailed description of what we were doing a couple times when we were making out. I mean, he was telling the guys stuff that wasn't even close to being any of their business."

"Oh my gosh!" Sharpay exclaimed. "What a jerk!"

"I know, it wasn't the smartest thing he's done, but I still forgave him."

"So anyway, what were you saying before I interrupted you?" Taylor inquired.

"Oh, right," Gabriella began. "When I used to let him touch me, he would obsess over my breasts. I'm not gonna lie; what he did to them felt amazing, but it just wasn't something I particularly wanted every second of every day."

"Have you gone any further?" Sharpay asked.

"What do you mean by 'further?'"

"I mean like, have you actually tried doing...you know...'it?'"

"Sharpay!" Gabriella scolded. "Of course not! We're only freshmen, and besides, I want to stay a virgin until I'm married. I think my first time would be more special that way."

Just then, Troy walked over to his girlfriend and, sitting down behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist. "Are you having girly talk?"

Gabriella nodded.

"Well, can you force yourself away from it for a few minutes? I want you to come in the hot tub with me."

"Troy..." Gabriella started to protest.

Troy slid over so he was beside Gabriella and placed a gentle finger on her lips. "No refusing, Brie. Please, just come."

"But we're at a party, Wildcat. We're supposed to be hanging out with our friends, not running off to be alone together."

"Brie..."

"No."

"You can go if you want, Gabriella," Sharpay said. "Just be back in about fifteen minutes because that's when we're going to change into our regular clothes and have cake and ice cream."

"See? Sharpay even wants you to come with me," Troy bribed.

Letting out a sigh, Gabriella stood up. "Fine. Let's go."

Troy took his girlfriend's hand in his and led her into the small room that was connected to the pool area.

"So, why did you want to come in here?" Gabriella asked as she climbed over the side of the hot tub, Troy following close behind.

"To make out," replied Troy, a smile breaking out upon his face.

"I should've known," Gabriella remarked.

Troy laughed. "Well, after seeing you in your bikini, I just couldn't resist having a few minutes to make out with you." He cautiously laid a hand on her hip and began leaning in to connect his lips with hers.

"Mmm," Gabriella murmured through the kiss.

Deepening the kiss, Troy permitted his tongue to slip into Gabriella's mouth and tangle with hers.

Gabriella placed her small hands on Troy's bare chest and relished the feeling of his well-defined muscles that rippled with every small move he made.

"That feels good," Troy managed to say as he started to nibble on Gabriella's lower lip. Unconsciously, his fingers wandered to the space at the back of her neck where her bikini was tied and started to fumble with the strings.

"Mmm," Gabriella groaned, too caught up in the moment to notice or care what was going on.

"Brie..." Troy mumbled. Having successfully untied the strings of Gabriella's bikini top, he allowed it to fall down. Using his thumb, he found an already hard nipple and started to rub slowly.

Gabriella whimpered in pleasure before jumping back and covering her chest with her arms. "Troy Alexander Bolton, what the hell do you think you're doing? I told you that you weren't to touch me in that way!" She turned her back to him and, pulling her top back up, quickly tied it.

"I...I promise it wasn't on purpose! I wasn't even thinking about what I was doing! I was too caught up in making out with you..."

"Don't lie to me! You knew very well what you were doing! Don't you care that anyone in the other room could've walked in and seen me half naked? And what if it would've been one of the guys? Do you really want your friends getting an eyeful of my breasts? Troy, you have to think these things through!"

"But you didn't say anything when I started taking your top off!"

"That's because I was too caught up in making out with you to even notice! But you don't take advantage of me like that! I thought you had more respect for me than that! I guess you don't, though. All you want from me is to see and touch my breasts. Well, I've had enough of it! You're a pervert, a jerk, and I don't want to be with you anymore. We're through." With those words, Gabriella stomped out of the room.

"What's wrong, Gabby?" Kelsi inquired when she saw the look on her friend's face.

"Troy's a pervert and a jerk and I just broke up with him," Gabriella answered, her voice thick with anger.

"Oh, please, not again!" groaned Sharpay, who had heard what Gabriella had said. "And at a party, too..."

"Well, this will be the last time because I'm not giving him any more chances. I specifically told him I didn't want to be touched sexually, but he touched me anyway. And now we're done. We're done being a couple, we're done being friends, we're just...done."

* * *

**First, I just want to say Happy HSM Anniversary! We've had six years of Troyella now:) Can you believe it? And now about this chapter: Troy WILL LEARN to stop acting like a jerk. I know so far he's been going through phases, like he's sweet for a while, and then he's a jerk, and then he's sweet, and then he's a jerk, etc. But this will be the last time for a WHILE he's a jerk. And by a while I mean for the rest of the story. I promise:) And also, after this problem is worked out, there won't be much drama for the rest of the story, and the story's going to be about 80 chapters, so it'll end up mostly fluff:) Please review!**


	39. Summer Begins

It was the 180th day of the school year at East High, also known as the last day of school. The bell had just rung, and kids were dashing out of their classes and over to their lockers so they could get them cleaned out as quickly as possible and start their summer.

"So, Gabby, do you wanna come get ice cream with us?" Sharpay invited as she swung her book bag, which currently contained mostly make-up she had kept in her locker in case of emergencies all year, over her shoulder.

"Is Troy included in the 'us?'" Gabriella queried.

"Well, yeah..." Sharpay admitted after a short pause. "But you don't have to talk to him. I mean..."

"Then I don't want to go," Gabriella decided simply, closing her locker. "I don't even like seeing his face."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Alright...well, then, maybe next week we can have a girl's night at my house. That way Troy won't be able to come. Does that sound good?"

Gabriella nodded.

"Okay! I'll see you then. I'll text you about what day and time."

"Okay."

Just then, Troy came walking up to Sharpay with Jason, Ryan, Zeke, Martha, Kelsi, and Taylor.

"I have to go," Gabriella lied. She quickly walked away.

"Hey," a tall guy with medium brown hair and hazel eyes greeted as he saw Gabriella.

"Um...hey," Gabriella returned awkwardly.

The guy smiled. "I'm Jay," he introduced. "I know, dumb name, but my parents are really into birds. My sister's name is Raven."

Gabriella let out a quiet giggle.

"But anyway, you're Gabriella, right?"

"Yes."

Jay smiled again. "So, I kind of found out that you and Troy...I'm pretty sure that's his name, anyway...kind of...split up, and seeing that it's the last day of school, I was just wondering if you would want to go out with me."

_He seems kind of sweet. And as a bonus, if I go out with him, Troy will be beyond jealous. _"I'd love to," smiled Gabriella.

"Really? Great! Could I have your number?" Jay took his cell phone from his pocket.

"Of course you can." Gabriella recited her number.

"Thank you so much. I'll call you tonight, okay? Maybe I could take you out somewhere tomorrow. Do you like the movies?"

Gabriella nodded. _Troy would never take me to the movies! _she thought. _Jay seems like a much better boyfriend already._

"Cool. We can go there, then. When I call you tonight, I'll let you know the time."

"Great!"

"So, can I walk you out to the bus?"

"Sure." As Gabriella felt Jay's hand slip around hers, she couldn't help but glance over at Troy, who was standing with his friends, but staring right at hers, jealously evident in his handsome eyes. Before walking away, she gave him a "this is what you get for treating me like crap" look, which he returned with a glare. _Wow, torturing him sure is fun! Maybe now he'll learn his lesson._

* * *

The next evening, Gabriella took a long, hot shower, then put on a pair of dark wash destroyed denim shorts, which she decorated with a white belt, and a turquoise tank top. She then blew her curls dry, and, parting them on the side, allowed them to cascade over her shoulders and down her back. After that, she applied some shimmery eye shadow, eye liner, mascara, a thin coat of blush, and tinted lip gloss. Satisfied with her appearance, she grabbed her purse, which matched both her belt and her top, and slipped her feet into a pair of flat white sandals.

_Ding dong!_

Gabriella raced out of her room, down the steps, and into the living room, where David had already answered the door.

"Oh, here she is," David remarked when he saw his daughter. "Now, I trust that you'll take good care of her, am I right?"

"Yes, sir," Jay responded.

"Okay. Well, then, she's all yours." Turning toward Gabriella, David said, "Bye, Gabby. Be home by ten."

"I will. Bye, Dad." After hugging her father, Gabriella stepped out into the warm summer air.

"Hi, Gabriella," smiled Jay. "Or can I call you Gabby?"

"Gabby's fine," came Gabriella's response.

"Well, Gabby, you look really nice." Jay reached for Gabriella's hand, which Gabriella allowed him to take.

"Thank you." Gabriella blushed as a huge smile spread across her face. However, that smile faded when she glanced in the direction of Troy's house and saw her ex-boyfriend standing in his driveway. By the look on his face, she could tell he was steaming with fury. Sticking her tongue out at him, she turned away.

"Is that Troy?" Jay asked.

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah. He's my neighbor, unfortunately. I apologize for any inconveniences he'll cause. Ever since we broke up, he's been kind of stalking me, but I refuse to talk to him. And now that I'm going out with you, he'll be worse than ever." She sighed.

"But if he broke up with you, why does he want to talk?"

"Because he didn't break up with me. I broke up with him."

"Oh." Jay nodded slowly in understanding.

"Maybe when we know each other a little better I'll give you some more details, but for now, all I'm going to say is that I wasn't happy with the relationship I had with him, so I ended it."

"That's okay. You don't ever have to tell me if you don't want to." Jay shrugged. "Now, are you ready to go? My car's right there." He motioned to a small, run-down black Toyota that was sitting in the driveway.

"Your car? You mean...you drive?" Gabriella held back an excited squeal.

"Yeah. I'm a sophomore...or I _was_ a sophomore. Yesterday was my last day. When school starts again, I'll be a junior. So, yeah, I turned sixteen in December and got my license just last week. And then my dad gave me his old car. It's not the greatest, but it gets me around." Jay led Gabriella over to his car and opened the passenger door for her. Once she was comfortably seated, he walked around to the other side and climbed behind the wheel, then started the car and backed out of the driveway.

_Yup, he can drive!_ Gabriella thought with a smile as she noticed that Troy was now not just steaming, he was on fire. _Beat that, you idiot!_

Troy took the basketball that was sitting in his yard and hurled it at the tree he was standing in front of. _I can't believe she replaced me!_

"Troy, what's wrong?" Jack, who had just come outside, inquired. "I just saw you throw that basketball right at the tree."

"She replaced me!" Troy shouted, walking past his father and into the house.

Jack followed Troy inside, closing the door behind him. "Well, son, you guys broke up. She has every right to date someone else."

"But I didn't want to break up!"

"I thought you told me you both agreed that you needed some time apart?"

Troy let out a sigh. "I didn't want to tell you what really happened, so I lied. I'm sorry." He looked at the ground.

"I understand it's none of my business what happened, but you could've still told me the truth, but taken out the details you didn't want to talk about. Now, is there anything you want to talk to me about? If not, that's okay."

"I guess I should tell you. I mean, maybe you'll know what to do." Troy threw himself on the couch.

Jack took a seat beside Troy.

"Well, when we were at Ryan and Sharpay's party, I started to feel like I had to kiss Gabriella, so I asked her to come in the hot tub with me so we could kiss without being bothered by everyone. She agreed, so we went in the other room where the hot tub was, and we started making out. And then I got really caught up in it, so without even thinking I uh...I...well...I uh..."

"You did what, Troy?" Jack prompted gently.

"I untied her bikini top." Troy looked down. "And then I touched her breasts. After that, she called me a pervert and told me we were through."

Jack took a minute to think of the best way to handle the situation before asking, "Did she give you permission to touch her like that?"

Troy shook his head. "She actually told me not to."

"And you didn't respect her?" Jack's voice was stern, yet controlled. "Well, in that case, I'm not at all surprised she broke up with you. You can't do that. Girls are typically very sensitive about their bodies and who touches them in what way. If she specifically said she didn't want you feeling her up, you need to respect that and not do it! Besides, don't you think you're a little young for that?"

"I guess I probably am, but the thing is that I get urges to touch her, and the fact that she was wearing a bikini wasn't helping." Troy sighed.

"Listen, son. All guys, especially teenage guys, get urges like that. They also get really curious about things like sex. That's why a lot of teenagers end up losing their virginity before they're out of high school. But you don't have to be like that. It actually is possible to learn how to control yourself."

"I know, but-"

"I don't want to hear it. You were very disrespectful toward Gabriella, and I think you should apologize to both her and Mr. Montez. And before you ask why you have to apologize to her father, it's because I'm sure he's beyond upset about what you did to her. In fact, that's probably why he never called me back when I called him the other day to ask if he wanted to come over for a barbeque."

Troy didn't say anything.

"Now, whenever you feel ready, whether it's tomorrow or a week from now, I think you should apologize for what you did. I know you're not a little kid anymore and normally, I can't force you to say you're sorry, but this time, I think I have to, because what you did was completely unacceptable. And now, I want to talk to you about something."

Knowing what conversation he was about to have, Troy let out an inward groan.

"Troy, I understand you just wanted to touch Gabriella, but eventually, it would definitely lead to something else. You can't deny that fact. And like I said before, that's why a lot of teenagers lose their virginity before they graduate high school. So I just want to remind you that the smartest thing to do it to wait to do anything sexual until you're at least done high school. Marriage would be even better, but I just strongly recommend waiting until at least after high school. I know I can't force you to wait, but I just want to help you make the best choice."

"Okay, Dad."

"Okay. Now is there is anything else you need to talk to me about?"

"No. Well, actually, I just want to say that I'll go apologize to Gabriella and her dad tomorrow."

"Good." Jack nodded approvingly.

_I hope apologizing helps,_ Troy thought. _But I have a bad feeling it'll take a lot more than apology to get Gabriella back...if it's even at all possible to get her back. Oh, why did I even get into this?_

* * *

**Yay! I got an update up two days in a row! I didn't have much homework for the weekend and it snowed today, so I decided to spend the day writing since I was stuck inside:) So, anyway, please leave a review and tell me what you thought of this chapter!**


	40. Apologies

Troy tried to swallow his fear as he rang the doorbell of the Montez home. How would Gabriella's father take his apology? How would Gabriella take his apology? Would it make things better, would it make things worse, would things stay the same? However, he didn't have much time to think all of that over, for David opened the door at that moment. "Hi, Troy," he greeted. It was evident that he was forcing himself to be friendly.

"Hi...uh...could I come in?" Troy began awkwardly. "I need to apologize to you...and to Gabriella."

"Okay." David stepped aside, allowing Troy to enter the house. After closing the door, he motioned to the couch and invited him to sit down.

Troy took a seat. "Well, first of all, I need to say sorry to you. I'll talk to Gabriella later, but for now, I just have to say sorry to you, since she's your daughter and all. What I did to her was wrong, and I know it made her uncomfortable. I'm sorry...wait, do you even know what I did to her?"

"You touched her, didn't you?"

Ashamed, Troy looked toward the ground and nodded. "Yes, I did. And I'm very sorry. I shouldn't have acted like that." He brought his eyes back up. "And please don't hold anything against my dad, either. He told me you never returned his call, and I think it's because of me. But it's not his fault. It's mine. So don't hate him, hate me."

For a minute, it was quiet. Then, David responded with, "Thank you. I really appreciate this, as long as you don't plan on doing anything like that to Gabriella again."

"Oh, I'm not," Troy assured.

"I'm glad to hear that. And I'll call your dad back today." David smiled.

"Thank you so much." A wave of relief washed over Troy. "Now could I go apologize to Gabriella?"

"If she wants to talk to you. I don't know if she will or not, though, since she's pretty upset about this whole thing. You can go up and knock on her door, though. _Knock..._don't just go in."

"Okay." Rising from his seat, Troy made his way up the stairs and over to Gabriella's bedroom door. Hesitantly, he knocked on it.

"Who is it?" called out Gabriella.

"It's me, Troy," Troy replied.

"Go away. I don't want to talk to you right now."

"But I'm here to apologize, Brie. I'm really sorry about what happened, and I want you to know that I'm truly sorry."

"Well, I'm not ready to accept an apology. Right now, the best thing you can do for me is to leave me alone. I have a new boyfriend who actually treats me right. I don't need you in my life."

_Ouch. That hurts, _Troy thought. Aloud, he said, "Okay. I'll go. But I just want you to know that I'm sorry." With that, he slowly walked away and descended the staircase.

"Did you talk to her?" David queried when he saw Troy walking toward the door.

"She didn't want to talk," Troy answered. "But I still apologized through the door. I didn't open it, though. I promise."

"I appreciate that. And maybe she'll talk to you in a couple weeks."

_I hope so._ "Okay...well, I'm gonna go now. Bye." Troy twisted the doorknob, then walked through the open doorway.

"Bye, Troy." David shut the door behind him.

_Now,_ Troy said to himself. _What can I do to get Gabriella to forgive me...or at least talk to me?_

* * *

Taking a deep breath, Troy began to climb the tree in Gabriella's backyard, a bouquet of flowers with a handwritten note attached to it in his hand. Two days had passed since he'd tried to apologize to her, and an idea of how to make up with her had finally come to him.

As he reached Gabriella's balcony, Troy put one leg over the edge, then the other. He then tapped softly on the glass door that led to her room.

"Go away," Gabriella called. Troy couldn't see her due to the curtain that was blocking his view, but he guessed she was lying in bed.

"I want to give you something," Troy spoke.

"Well, I don't want it."

"Well, I'm leaving it at your door anyway." Troy gently placed the flowers on the ground, then made his way back down the tree and over the fence to his yard.

Noticing that there was no more noise outside of her room, Gabriella threw the covers off of her and opened the door to her balcony. Picking up the flowers, she smelled them. _Roses...my favorite._ She smiled. However, her smile faded when she remembered Troy had given them to her. She tossed them back on the ground and turned around to go back inside. That is, until she felt a paper sticking to her foot. Bending down, she took it off and looked at it. Tears welled up in her eyes as she read the words.

_Dear Brie,_

_I know you don't want to talk to me, but I have to let you know how sorry I am. I didn't want to hurt you. That was the last thing I wanted to do, I promise. It breaks my heart to know I hurt you. And I'm not gonna ask for you to get back together with me, because I know you deserve better. Much better. I'm just a stupid jerk that deserves nothing but a punch in the nose. I mean, I love you, Brie, but I know that sometimes you have to let the people you love go because they deserve better, so I'm letting you go._

_Troy_

_P.S. I know this wasn't worded perfectly, but it's what I had to say._

_He loves me?_ thought Gabriella, grabbing a tissue from beside her bed and dabbing at her eyes. Going over to the edge of her balcony, she turned her eyes toward Troy's house and whispered, "I love you, too, Wildcat."

"Brie?" Troy, who hadn't entered his house yet, looked up to see Gabriella standing outside, the moonlight bouncing off her face.

"Troy..." breathed Gabriella. "Come here."

Again, Troy climbed over the fence and up the tree. But this time, he received a much friendlier greeting than he had previously.

Sobbing, Gabriella flung her arms around Troy's waist and buried her face in his chest. "I love you," she murmured. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Troy returned, embracing Gabriella in return.

Lifting her head, Gabriella slowly leaned in to kiss Troy, who wasted no time in closing the gap between their lips. That instant, sparks began to fly, and the stars shone a little brighter. Troy and Gabriella were right where they belonged: together.


	41. Snickerdoodle and Baby Boo

Nervously, Gabriella picked up her cell phone to call Jay. It was the day after she had made up with Troy, and she knew she had to end things with Jay right away so it wouldn't look as if she were dating two guys at once. However, seeing as she didn't know him very well, she didn't know how he would react to the news. Her heart pounding, she pressed to connect to his phone, then waited in suspense.

"Hey," came Jay's voice over the speaker.

"Hi...um...I don't want to hurt your feelings or anything, I mean, you seem like a really nice guy, but Troy and I kind of made up last night, so I don't think I can date you anymore," Gabriella spoke cautiously.

"I knew this was gonna happen," came Jay's simple response. "I just didn't think it would be this soon."

"Like I said, you seem like a great guy. You didn't do anything wrong to make me want to break up with you," assured Gabriella. "It's just that I feel I belong with Troy."

Jay was silent.

"We can still be friends," Gabriella suggested. "And I'm sure my whole group of friends would be happy to be your friend, too." Just as she finished her last sentence, a thought popped into her head. "And you know what? My friend Taylor McKessie has been wanting a date for a while now, and I'm sure if you asked her out, she would go with you."

"Taylor McKessie..." Jay repeated thoughtfully. "Oh, yeah, I know her! She's pretty. I would so go out with her, especially if she has a personality like yours."

Gabriella laughed softly. "I don't know that her personality's _exactly_ like mine, but we have some things in common."

"Well, I'll definitely consider asking her out." Jay sounded a lot happier than he had a minute ago.

"Okay." Gabriella paused. "And if you want to, you can come over to my house today around one. Troy, Jason, Martha, and the rest of my friends are coming then to hang out, so if you want to join us, you can."

"Alright. I'll be there. Thanks for inviting me."

"No problem. See you later."

"See you. Bye."

"Bye." Closing her phone, Gabriella made her way over to her dresser and applied some lip gloss before running a comb through her curls. It was noon, and Troy was going to be at her door at any minute, as he had wanted to arrive an hour before every else to spend some alone time with her.

_Ding dong!_

At the sound of the doorbell, Gabriella rushed out of her room, down the steps, and to the front door. Opening it, she smiled and said, "Hey, Wildcat. Come on in."

"Hey, beautiful." Troy gave Gabriella a quick kiss on the lips as he stepped into the house.

Gabriella closed the door. "So, did you eat lunch yet or are you saving room for the snacks we're gonna have once everyone else gets here?"

"I had a sandwich," answered Troy. "But I'll still be hungry for snacks. What were planning on having?"

"Chips and dip, pretzels, snack mix, and snickerdoodle cookies."

"Snickerdoodle?" repeated Troy. Then, teasingly, he added, "I would prefer chocolate chip."

Gabriella rolled her eyes, pretending to be annoyed. "You complain too much."

"But," Troy continued, "Snickerdoodle would be a cute nickname for you...that is, if you like it."

"Um...no, not really," giggled Gabriella. "It's kind of cheesy. Maybe if you only use it once in a while it'll be okay, though."

"Alright then, snickerdoodle." Scooping Gabriella into his arms, Troy carried her over to the sofa, where he sat down and placed her in his lap. As he ran his fingers through her hair, he brought his lips to her ear and whispered, "I love you."

"I love you, too," Gabriella returned softly, leaning into her boyfriend's chest.

Troy took Gabriella's hand and laced her fingers with his own. After a few minutes of sitting there like that in silence he asked, "So, what do you wanna do?"

"Just stay like this," murmured Gabriella, carefully pulling her hand away from Troy's and wrapping both her arms around his waist.

"That's fine with me," Troy shrugged, returning Gabriella's embrace.

"Wildcat," Gabriella started once a long pause had passed.

"Yes, my snickerdoodle?" Troy acknowledged, stroking his girlfriend's hair.

"Troy!" Gabriella scolded playfully as she lifted her head. "I told you to only call me that once in a while! I really wasn't kidding when I said it was cheesy."

"Alright, princess." Smiling, Troy pressed his lips to the top of Gabriella's head. "Or should I say, snickerdoodle?"

"Troy!" Gabriella spoke again. However, soon after her boyfriend's name left her mouth, she let out a defeated sigh. "Okay, Wildcat. I give in. If you really like calling me snickerdoodle, I'll let you do it...but only in private. I don't want to upset you, but it would be kind of embarrassing for you to call me that in front of our friends."

"It's a deal," Troy agreed, leaning in to kiss Gabriella.

"Not so fast." Gabriella held her hand up to stop Troy. "The deal's not finished. If you have an embarrassing nickname for me, then that also means..."

"Oh, no," Troy groaned.

A giggle escaped Gabriella's lips. "I know what you're thinking, and yes, if you want to call me something embarrassing, then I get to call you something embarrassing. And I have just the perfect name." She giggled again.

"Should I even ask what it is?"

"Well, whether you ask or not, you're finding out...baby boo." Gabriella tapped Troy's nose.

"Brie!" Troy covered his face and let out a loud groan. "I thought you were gonna pick something that would be equally embarrassing as snickerdoodle is to you...not more!" He sighed. "Oh, well. As long as you don't call me that around anyone, I guess I could get used to it."

"Alright, now we have a deal." Gabriella waited for a second, then said, "Are you gonna kiss me to make it official?"

"Of course, my beautiful baby girl." With that, Troy connected his lips with Gabriella's. When they pulled apart, he said, "Now, what about I help my snickerdoodle get out the snickerdoodles before everyone else gets here?"

"Could you get any cheesier?" Giggling, Gabriella jumped off of her boyfriend's lap and ran around to the back of the sofa.

"Hey!" Troy sprung from his seat and ran after Gabriella, only to have her dash into the kitchen. It was there that he cornered her and, lifting her off the ground, spun her around. "I got you," he smiled.

"Yes, you did, baby boo; now could you please put me down?"

"I could, but I'd rather not." Troy moved Gabriella so that she was settled on his hip like a toddler.

"But Troy..." begged Gabriella. "Everyone's gonna be here soon. We have to get out the snacks. Remember? You just suggested helping with that in a very cheesy way before you stared chasing me."

"Fine," Troy consented finally. "Down you go." He carefully placed Gabriella back on the floor.

Gabriella began walking to the cabinet in which the snacks were, but then, upon remembering something, turned around to face Troy again. "Wildcat...I...I hope you're not mad, but today when I broke up with Jay, I told him we could still be friends...and I kind of invited him to hang out with us today."

"He won't try to steal you from me, will he?" Worry was thick in Troy's voice.

"No. He's actually interested in Taylor now."

"Taylor?" Troy repeated. "He moved on that quick? And how do you...wait a minute! Did you set this up?"

"Kind of..." admitted Gabriella. "I mean, I know Taylor's been looking for someone for a while and Jay's a nice guy...but just not the right guy for me. I think he and Taylor will really get along, though."

A smile crossed Troy's face. "You're brilliant...snickerdoodle." He winked as he stepped closer to Gabriella.

"You're silly...baby boo." Gabriella lifted her chocolate eyes to meet Troy's ocean ones.

"I love you," Troy breathed, lovingly pushing a stray piece of hair behind Gabriella's ear and cupping her chin in his hand.

"I love you, too." Slowly, Gabriella wound her arms around Troy and snuggled deep into his chest. There was certainly nothing that could tear her away from him ever again.

* * *

**I know this chapter was kind of cheesy, but I just felt like writing cute fluff:) And don't worry, Jay won't be a threat to Troyella's relationship. I just brought him into the story so Taylor could have a chance to date someone since Chad's a jerk in here. Anyway, happy 2/29! (I can only say that every 4 years!) And in case you didn't already know this, baby boo was actually Vanessa's name for Zac. She even had him listed in her phone as baby boo:) **

**Please leave a review!**


	42. Hawaiian Paradise Part 1

"Bye, Troy. Bye, Gabriella. Thanks so much for letting me come over," Jay, who was clutching Taylor's hand tightly, spoke before placing his free hand on the doorknob to open it. He had had a great time getting to know all of Troy and Gabriella's friends, especially Taylor. Halfway through the visit, he had asked her if she wanted to go out with him that evening and naturally, Taylor replied with an eager "yes."

"Bye," Troy and Gabriella both returned in unison. "See you later."

With one last smile, Jay opened the door and stepped out of the house with Taylor. Those two were the last ones to leave, so once they had disappeared, Troy took the opportunity of being alone with Gabriella again to lift her into his arms like a toddler and touch his lips to her nose. "Snickerdoodle," he said playfully.

"Baby boo," Gabriella responded, kissing her boyfriend on the cheek and pushing his hair out of his face.

_Ding dong!_

Gabriella let out a sigh. Why now? She and Troy were just starting to have fun! "Put me down, please, Wildcat. I have to get the door."

"Or I can get it with you," shrugged Troy, making his way over to the door and twisting the knob. "Oh, hey Dad," he greeted when he saw that Jack was the one standing on the porch. "What's up?"

"This is." Smiling, Jack held out four plane tickets to Hawaii.

"Hawaii? Are you serious?" Troy exclaimed. "We're really going? When?"

"We leave tomorrow morning at five for the airport," Jack answered.

"Wait, tomorrow? But how..."

"Yeah. Your mom and I arranged for this trip a couple months ago. We just wanted to keep it a surprise for you, though, so I didn't tell you about it until now. And also, I was wondering if Gabriella would want to come since we made sure we got an extra ticket." Jack paused. "But I think that answer's kind of obvious seeing that you're holding her." He laughed lightly, then grew serious. "Is she alright?"

"Yeah, she's fine." Troy took one arm away from Gabriella and used it to stroke her curls. "We're just kind of...happy to be back together."

"Okay. Well, don't get too happy and do something you shouldn't," Jack warned. "Or else you'll be in big trouble." He softened his tone and turned toward Gabriella. "Do you wanna come with us, Gabby?"

"Yes," Gabriella replied. "Of course." She smiled. "I'll just have to check with my dad. Can you hold on a minute?"

"Sure," Jack said.

Troy placed Gabriella back on the ground so she could go find her father. When she returned a couple minutes later, her face was lit with happiness. "He said I could!"

"That's great!" Jack responded. "Well, then, if you want to get your stuff together and stay over at our house for the night, you can. That way you can already be with us for when we have to leave in the morning."

"Okay. How long are we gonna be away?"

"A week."

"Alright."

"Okay, well, Troy," Jack started, focusing his attention on his son again, "I'm gonna go back home. Once Gabriella's ready, you two can come over and then I want you to pack. And also, I know it's only four-thirty now, but I just want to tell you that I want you guys in bed by nine so you can be up and ready in time to go to the airport. I mean, you can always sleep on the plane, but I still think you should try to get some rest. Sound good?"

Troy nodded. "Yeah. And I'll see you in a little bit, Dad. Bye."

"Bye."

Troy closed the door, then said to Gabriella, "Can you believe it? Hawaii! We're gonna have so much fun!"

"I know! I'm so excited!" As she finished speaking, Gabriella put on her sweetest smile and asked, "You're gonna take me on a date there, right?"

"Of course I will, princess." Troy kissed his girlfriend on the lips.

"That'll be so romantic," murmured Gabriella.

"Well, then, what are you waiting for? Let's go get your stuff packed!"

* * *

Gabriella let out a sleepy sigh and laid her cheek on Troy's shoulder. It was seven o' clock, and after a long ride in heavy traffic and a forty-five minute wait at the airport, they had finally boarded the plane and were waiting for it to take off. Since there were only two seats in a row on the side of the plane they were sitting on, Jack and Lucille had sat together and let Troy and Gabriella sit beside one another behind them, as the two teenagers were old enough to not have to be under careful supervision every second of the day.

"Please fasten your seatbelts," came a woman's voice over the loudspeaker. "The plane will be taking off in two minutes."

Gabriella, whose eyes were half-closed, didn't seem to hear the message.

"Sweetheart, you have to buckle up," Troy told his girlfriend gently.

Groaning, Gabriella pulled her seatbelt across her lap and locked it into place. When that was done, she placed her head back on her Troy's shoulder and wrapped her arms loosely about his neck. For some reason, whenever she grew tired, she would get into a clingy, cuddly mood and start acting the way she currently was.

"I know, baby girl. I'm tired, too," Troy murmured, hugging Gabriella. "But we have an eight hour flight ahead of us, so once we're in the air, you can come snuggle on my lap and try to get some rest."

"Mmm," mumbled Gabriella in acknowledgement.

"Please keep your seatbelts fastened and remain in your seats while we take off," the voice sounded again.

The plane rose slowly into the air. Once it was high enough and had gained full speed, the woman spoke over the loudspeaker one last time. "You may now remove your seatbelts. Feel free to get up and walk around. Flight attendants will be making rounds shortly to try to make your trip as comfortable as possible. Have a great flight and thank you for choosing Albuquerque Airlines."

"Alright, snickerdoodle," Troy said softly, making sure no one could hear him use his nickname for Gabriella. Pressing the button to release her buckle, he picked her up and settled her in his lap. He then reached under his seat, pulled out a blanket, and covered the both of them with it.

"Wildcat," Gabriella spoke, "Can I take my shoes off?"

"I don't care," Troy shrugged.

Gabriella kicked off her flip-flops and nuzzled her face into the crook of Troy's neck.

"That's it, baby girl. You go to sleep." Troy relined the seat slightly and ran his fingers through Gabriella's curls.

Fastening her arms around Troy's waist, Gabriella allowed herself to drift off. Soon, Troy was asleep as well.

* * *

"Hey, beautiful," murmured Troy, lacing his fingers with Gabriella's at the sight of her eyelids cracking open. He had woken up just ten minutes before, and had spent that time watching her sleep. "Do you feel better now that you got some rest?"

Gabriella nodded against Troy's shoulder.

"That's good," smiled Troy. "Are you hungry or thirsty at all?"

"A little thirsty," Gabriella replied quietly, not lifting her head from the spot where it rested.

"Are you still sleepy, snickerdoodle?" queried Troy softly. "Even after your nap?"

Gabriella shook her head. "No, I just wanna snuggle. That is, if you don't mind."

"Of course I don't." Pressing his lips to Gabriella's forehead, Troy squeezed her tightly, then asked, "What are you thirsty for, sweetie?"

"Iced tea," answered Gabriella.

"Okay. I'll ask for that for you when one of the attendants comes over to ask if we want anything. I'll probably get some Coke and a sandwich."

"Can I have a bite of your sandwich?" Gabriella took her arms from around Troy's neck and replaced them so that they circled his waist instead.

"I thought you weren't hungry, baby girl."

"Well, I'm not hungry for a whole snack or sandwich or anything, but I do kind of want just a small bite."

"Okay, princess. I'll let you steal a little of my sandwich." Troy kissed Gabriella's nose, then nuzzled it with his own before leaning in to connect his lips with hers.

Slipping her tongue into Troy's mouth, Gabriella nibbled gently on his lower lip. A satisfied moan escaped her lips as she felt Troy return the favor.

"Mmm, Brie..." Troy moaned through the kiss, pulling Gabriella closer to him.

"Excuse me."

Troy and Gabriella both broke apart to see a tall, very large woman with blonde hair pulled back into a sloppy bun. She wore a tight tank top and a pair of pajama pants that dragged on the ground, and the thick stench of cigarette smoke hung in the air.

"Um...yeah?" Troy acknowledged awkwardly.

"My four-year-old daughter and I are sitting right over there." The woman pointed across the aisle to a pair of seats,; one of them was occupied by a little girl. "And we do not enjoy your little show. No one wants to see two kids getting all over each other, especially when one of the people who has to watch is a baby girl!"

"We weren't trying to uh...disturb you." Troy cautiously raised his eyes to meet the woman's.

"You didn't know that what you were doing wasn't pleasant for others to watch? I mean, have some respect!" The woman then turned to go back to her seat while muttering, "Teenagers these days! There's not a decent one left!"

"Troy, what were you doing?" Lucille, who had heard what had just happened, asked as she turned around.

"Uh...making out..." Troy looked down at the ground.

"Okay. Well, maybe you'll just have to wait to do that until we get to our hotel. I know it wasn't necessarily wrong for you to be doing it here, but some people are offended by it and you don't want to cause trouble. Alright?"

"Alright," agreed Troy.

The rest of the plane ride went smoothly, and finding a rental car at a place nearby the Hawaii airport was no problem at all.

When Jack pulled into the parking lot of the hotel they were to stay at, all Gabriella could do was gasp. Tall, beautiful palm trees surrounded the large building, and large, colorful hibiscus flowers were planted along the walkway that led up to the door.

"You like it?" Troy asked.

Gabriella smiled. "It's so pretty!" She played with the lei around her neck that had been given to her at the airport. Well, actually she had two because Troy had refused to wear his since he thought it was too girly.

"Wait until we get on the beach," Lucille smiled.

"Well, first we have to check into our room," Jack spoke. "And get settled, maybe grab some breakfast. And _then_ we can go to the beach."

"Troy," whispered Gabriella. "Will it be too much for you if I wear my bikini? I wanna get a tan."

"No. I'll control myself," Troy promised quietly, taking Gabriella's hand in his and rubbing it gently with his thumb.

A smile spread across Gabriella's face.

"Okay. Everyone grab a bag out of the trunk and let's go check in," said Jack as he stepped out of the car. "Troy, you and I can take two bags each."

Once everybody was holding a bag or suitcase, they walked into the hotel and went over to the front counter. After giving out his name, Jack was given a key card and a pamphlet in which there were suggested restaurants and tourist attractions. It was then that they all finally made their way to their room, which was really a small suite that contained one bedroom, a living room, a bathroom, and a small cooking area that consisted of only a toaster, microwave, and coffee maker.

"Alright, so Troy," Jack began. "You and Gabriella can sleep out here on the sofa bed. Your mother and I will have the bedroom." He gave him a warning glance. "So that means we could come out and see you at any time, so watch what you do."

Troy looked embarrassed. "Okay, Dad."

"And it looks like there's some drawers out here if you and Gabriella want to put your clothes in there before we go get breakfast."

"What time is it here now?" asked Troy.

"Well, it's a four hour difference between here and Albuquerque, so it's probably around ten, I would guess."

"So it's four hours less?"

Jack nodded.

"Oh, okay. Just wondering." Troy then turned his attention to Gabriella. "Come on, Brie. Let's get our stuff put away."

"Okay." Gabriella followed Troy over to there drawers, set down her suitcase, and took her duffel bag from Troy.

"Oh my gosh, Brie. You brought your whole closet!" exclaimed Troy when he saw everything Gabriella had inside her luggage.

Gabriella giggled. "No, I didn't. Some of the stuff in here is my toothbrush and hair accessories."

"Well, I just have one suitcase." Troy opened the mentioned suitcase to reveal a flat layer of clothes.

"One pair of boxers?" observed Gabriella. "Um...I think you could've made a little more effort."

"They go under my clothes. No one will be able to tell if they're dirty or not. And anyway, I'm gonna be in swim shorts most of the time, and I brought three pairs of those." Troy held up three pairs of shorts. "And also a t-shirt and basketball shorts to sleep in and a few other pairs of shorts and more t-shirts."

"What are you wearing for our date?" queried Gabriella.

"Oh, don't worry. I have a pair of jeans and a button down shirt."

Gabriella smiled. "Good."

"What are you gonna wear when we go out?"

"This." Gabriella held up a deep pink spaghetti strap dress that looked as if it would reach her knees. The square, fairly low neckline had two rows of ruffles along it and two wide ribbons that tied around the waist.

"You'll look gorgeous." Troy leaned in to kiss Gabriella on the lips after checking to make sure his parents had left to go into their bedroom.

"Thank you." A small blush appeared on Gabriella's cheeks.

"Aww, did I embarrass my snickerdoodle?" asked Troy in a voice he would use if he were talking to a baby.

Gabriella's blush grew deeper. "Yes, and stop it, baby boo," she teased, wrapping her arms around Troy and burying her face in his shoulder.

"You're a cutie pie," Troy remarked, embracing his girlfriend in return. "That is, as long as it doesn't sound too babyish for me to call you that."

"It's better than snickerdoodle," giggled Gabriella, slowly pulling away from Troy.

"Oh, really, snickerdoodle?" Troy joked, picking Gabriella up and locking her in his arms. "You know, snickerdoodle, this vacation's gonna be a lot of fun."

"Stop it!" groaned Gabriella.

"Oh, and snickerdoodle, our date will be the best one ever, I promise."

"Troy...seriously..."

Just then, Jack entered the room, "Are you guys almost ready to go to breakfast?"

"We just need five us five more minutes, Dad," Troy answered.

"Five? Troy, I have to get changed and fix my hair. I can't be ready in five minutes! Maybe fifteen, though," Gabriella spoke.

"Alright, then. Make that fifteen," Troy said to Jack.

Agreeing, Jack walked back into the bedroom.

* * *

Half an hour later, Jack, Lucille, Troy, and Gabriella were all seated at a small table in a Hawaiian restaurant looking over the menu at the breakfast choices. They had already gotten their beverages, which for Jack and Lucille was Hawaiian coffee and for Troy and Gabriella was pineapple juice, and by the taste of those drinks, it could be guessed that the food would be amazing.

"I think I'll try the Hawaiian pancakes with a fruit cup," Gabriella announced.

"I think I'll have the French toast, Hawaiian pancakes, and sausage," Troy decided.

"Pick one or the other, Troy," Lucille told her son gently. "We don't want to spend hundreds every day on food because you and your father are getting two whole main courses. And if you want a third thing, why not get a fruit cup like Gabriella? That's something healthy and it's only a dollar."

"But it's papaya, passion fruit, kiwi, and pineapple," Troy protested. "And the only thing I've ever had out of those is pineapple, and papaya has never looked good to me."

"So does that mean I can't get the scrambled eggs, pancakes, and sausage?" Jack asked.

"No! Didn't I just say that?" Lucille responded. "I know we saved up for this trip, but we don't have an exceptional amount of money for food!"

"I'm on Dad's side!" Troy smiled.

Jack held out his hand for a high-five.

"Oh, yeah!" Troy exclaimed.

It was then that the waitress approached the table. "Are you all ready to order or would you like a few more minutes?" she inquired.

"We're ready," Jack replied.

"Okay, then. What can I get for you?"

Everyone said what they wanted, Troy and Jack making sure to choose only one main course after warning glances from Lucille.

"Alright. Thanks, guys! It should be about fifteen minutes." The waitress walked away.

While they waited for the food, the Bolton family and Gabriella discussed their plans for the day. After breakfast, they were going to pick up some food from a nearby grocery store, then go back to their room to change for the beach and pack a picnic lunch to eat there. They would stay at the beach until about seven, then return to the hotel to get ready to grab dinner. Once they were finished dinner, they would bring dessert to their room and eat it while watching a movie together.

"What movie?" Troy queried.

"_The Lucky One!_" Gabriella shouted with a giggle, knowing that her boyfriend would highly object to that option.

"Why do we always have to watch Zac Efron movies?" Troy groaned, slapping his forehead with his hand.

"Here's your food," announced the waitress, coming over to the table with four heaping plates. Once they were distributed, she made sure nothing else was needed, then left.

"What about _Star Wars?_" Troy suggested.

"I don't like _Star Wars,_ Troy. You know that," came Gabriella's response.

"Neither do I," Lucille broke in.

"What about _The Lorax?_" Gabriella shrugged. She knew exactly what she was doing. It was an animated movie, so if Troy didn't see Zac Efron in it, he would never know he actually played the voice of the one of the characters until the credits.

"You mean that Dr. Seuss movie with the big orange fluffy thing?" questioned Troy. "Isn't that kind of meant for young kids?"

"It's rated P.G., so it can't be that babyish."

"Why can't we see something like _Wrath of the Titans?_" Troy complained as he took a bite of his pancakes. "I like action movies like that."

"Would it be scary?" Gabriella really wasn't a fan of scary movies.

"Maybe a little, but not like horror scary."

"I saw it with Troy and Jack in theaters and it wasn't as bad as I expected," Lucille told Gabriella. "I mean, horror-wise it wasn't. I didn't think it had a great storyline or anything."

"I liked it," remarked Jack.

"Okay, well, then, how about this?" Lucille began. "Tonight we can watch _Wrath of the Titans_ and then tomorrow, _The Lucky One. _Sound fair?"

Troy and Gabriella both nodded.

"Jack?" prompted Lucille.

"Yeah, it sounds fair to me," Jack responded.

"Alright, then. That's settled. We'll pick up both movies on the way back from the grocery store. I saw you can ask to rent DVDs right in the hotel at the front desk."

"Really? Movies right in the hotel? Jackpot!" exclaimed Troy.

"Yes," Lucille confirmed. "They're right in the hotel."

"This is the most awesome vacation ever," smiled Troy.

* * *

It was one-thirty by the time Troy's parents, Troy, and Gabriella reached the beach.

"It's so pretty here!" exclaimed Gabriella. The white sand led up to the clear blue water, which the hot sun reflected upon to create a sparkling effect. Palm trees reaching up to the cloudless sky swayed in the gentle breeze.

"Let's find a place to put down our things," Lucille suggested.

"There's an open spot right by that one tree," Troy pointed out.

"Okay. We can sit there."

Upon reaching the location Troy had pointed out, everyone placed their beach chairs on the ground and Lucille made sure the cooler containing lunch was in a safe place.

Removing his shirt and slipping off his shoes, Troy ran to the water and stepped in.

"Troy, don't you want sunscreen?" Lucille called. holding up a small bottle.

Groaning, Troy turned around and made his way back to the area under the tree. He then took the sunscreen bottle from his mother and began rubbing the lotion it contained on his body. Once finished, he turned toward Gabriella and asked, "Brie, wanna come in the water with me?"

"Sure." Gabriella took off the cover-up she was wearing over her bikini and kicked her flip-flops into the sand. Then, giggling, she jumped onto Troy's back and fastened her arms loosely around his neck.

Sighing, Troy grabbed Gabriella's legs to help her stay up, then walked to the water. "You wanna get down?" he checked once he was deep enough that the salty liquid splashed up over his ankles.

"No." Gabriella buried her face in Troy's shoulder. "I want you to go deeper."

"How much deeper?"

"Deep enough that I can get my feet wet."

"If you want your feet wet, why don't you get down, then?"

"Because it's more fun this way," giggled Gabriella.

Troy took a few more steps, then, unfastening Gabriella's arms from his neck, gently tossed her into the water, grabbing her hands as she fell so that salt water wouldn't get into her eyes.

"Troy!" scolded Gabriella, laughing. Putting her hands on Troy's shoulders, she lifted herself up until she was straddling his waist.

"What are you doing?" Troy chuckled.

Suddenly, Gabriella gasped and, letting go of Troy, started to rush in the direction of the shore. "There's a shark behind you, Troy! Move!"

A rush of panic washed over Troy as he sprinted as fast as he could in the water after Gabriella. It wasn't until he noticed the amused expression on her face that he knew he had been tricked. "Brie! Why'd you do that?"

"Your face...it was priceless!" By this point, hysterical laughter had taken over Gabriella.

"Hey! It wasn't funny! It was mean!" Troy crossed his arms over his chest, pretending to be angry.

"If only I had gotten a picture! It was just too funny!"

Thinking quickly, Troy picked up Gabriella and carried her over to the place they had their chairs at. He then took a seat on one and placed his girlfriend in his lap, making sure to keep her secured against him with his arms.

"Let me go!" Gabriella begged.

"Nope. Not gonna happen." Leaning down, Troy kissed Gabriella's shoulder before resting his chin there.

"Are you two done in the ocean already?" Lucille asked.

"For now," Troy replied. "Because Brie decided to play a joke on me and tell me a shark was right at my back."

Lucille laughed and shook her head. "You guys..." she spoke. "Always doing the craziest things."

"Wildcat..." Gabriella wriggled from Troy's grasp. "I'm gonna lie out on my chair now." She walked to her chair, which was right beside Troy's, and laid down.

"Alright, Troy. Your mom and I are going in the water for a little bit, okay?" said Jack as he stood up.

"Okay," Troy acknowledged. Once his parents were gone, he turned toward Gabriella, who was untying her bikini. "Brie, why are you stripping?" he asked, his eyes growing wide.

A giggle escaped Gabriella's lips. "I'm not. I'm just untying my top so I can tan without getting lines on my shoulders. I would never strip in public. You know that."

"Yeah." Troy climbed off his seat and reached into the cooler. Pulling out a can of Coke, he opened it and took a sip. "Want some, baby girl?" he offered.

"Not a whole can. But I'll take a sip of yours," Gabriella responded, sitting up and holding out her hand.

Troy handed the soda to Gabriella. After she had her sip, he took it back. "I'm bored," he remarked. "Let's build a sand castle or something."

"Wildcat, aren't you a bit old to be playing in the sand like a six-year-old?" Gabriella teased gently.

"Hey! Don't insult me!"

"I'm not trying to."

Troy waited a minute before exclaiming, "Look over there! It's Zac Efron!"

"Where?" Quickly tying the strings of her bikini back together, Gabriella began looking around frantically.

"Haha! You fell for it!" Troy clapped. "Now I can proudly say that I've got my revenge for the shark joke!"

"Meanie," pouted Gabriella.

"Yeah, I might be mean, but you love me." Troy smiled.

"Of course I do." Gabriella wrapped both her arms around her boyfriend and cuddled into his chest. "Very, very much."

* * *

That evening, Troy and Gabriella were sitting in the living room of their suite with Jack and Lucille waiting for _Wrath of the Titans_ to start playing. They had let Jack and Lucille use the couch and had decided to seat themselves on the floor, Troy sitting with his legs apart so that Gabriella could place herself between them and lean back against his chest.

"Hey, Dad, can we shut the lights off?" Troy queried, turning around to face Jack.

"I would say we could, but you would have to check with the girls in the room," Jack replied.

"I guess we can," Lucille agreed.

"Yeah. It's fine," shrugged Gabriella.

"Okay, then." Standing up, Jack made his way over to the light switch and flipped it, then returned to the couch.

Troy grabbed the bowl of microwave popcorn that was beside him and, after snatching up a handful, passed it to Gabriella.

The first half hour of the movie was watched in silence. It was once that time period passed that Gabriella let out a small gasp and hid her face in Troy's chest. "I don't like this fighting," she whimpered, gripping him.

Kissing the top of her head, Troy embraced Gabriella. "It's okay, sweetheart. I'm here," he murmured. "Do you want me to let you know when this scene's over?"

Gabriella nodded against Troy.

"Okay, baby girl. I will." Troy took a forkful of the slice of cake he and Gabriella had gotten at dinner that night to share and held it to her mouth. Watching her take it, he smiled and kissed her head again.

"Alright, it's over," Troy announced in ten minutes.

Lifting her head, Gabriella cautiously focused her attention on the TV screen again.

"Gabriella, are you okay?" queried Lucille in a mother-like tone.

"Yeah. That one scene was just a little intense for me, that's all. But I'll be fine," Gabriella assured.

"Alright. Well just say something if it really gets to be too much for you, okay?"

"Okay."

For the rest of the movie, Gabriella was fine except for one more scene where she needed to cover her eyes. However, when the credits began to roll, she did give a quiet sigh of relief, for even the scenes she had been able to watch had been somewhat disturbing to see.

"Alright, guys. It's eleven-thirty now, so I think it's time for bed," said Jack, getting up from his seat and turning the lights back on. "Do you need any help pulling the mattress out from the couch, Troy?"

"Um...sure Dad," Troy decided. "Brie, you can go brush your teeth awhile if you want. Me and my dad will take care of the bed."

Gabriella only nodded and reluctantly dragged herself to the bathroom, where she rushed through brushing her teeth and washing her face. When she came out, she saw Lucille putting sheets on the bed. "Do you need help with that?" she asked her.

"Not with the sheets, but if you want, you can grab those blankets off the floor and start unfolding them." Lucille gestured toward the two blankets that lay beside the couch.

"Okay." Gabriella picked up one of the blankets.

"I'm gonna go brush my teeth now," announced Troy, making his way toward the bathroom. By the time he emerged from it, the bed was all set up.

"Alright. Well, that's it. I think we're gonna try not to fold the mattress back in the couch if possible so we don't have to go through this every night," Lucille spoke. "So anyway, good night, you two." She hugged Troy, earning a protest from him, then did the same to Gabriella, who accepted her affection more gratefully.

"Good night," Jack called as he stepped into the bedroom. "And Troy, remember, no fooling around."

"I know, Dad. Good night." Troy then fixed his attention on Gabriella. "I'm gonna get the lights, okay? You go ahead and get comfy under the covers."

"Okay."

Once the lights were out, Troy carefully felt his way through the dark over to the bed and got into it. The instant his head hit the pillow, he felt Gabriella snuggling into him and securing her arms around his body. "Are you okay, snickerdoodle?" he inquired gently, holding her tight.

"I'm still a little freaked out by that movie," Gabriella admitted.

"Aww, baby girl, it's okay. I'm right here. Everything will be okay, and tomorrow we'll watch _The Lucky One_, so then it'll be my turn to be scared."

Gabriella giggled. "Zac Efron isn't scary!"

"Well, I don't like him," Troy responded. "But I'll still watch the movie for you since you had to watch _Wrath of the Titans _for me. I'm really sorry it scared you, though."

"It's okay. I'll get over it." Cuddling further into Troy, Gabriella yawned. "Now I'm mostly just tired."

"Well, then, get some rest." Troy leaned in. "Kisses?"

Lifting her head, Gabriella allowed her lips to connect with Troy's. "Love you, baby boo."

"Love you, too, snickerdoodle. Now go to sleep. I'll see you in the morning." When Gabriella was snuggled into his chest once more, Troy laid his head on top of hers and shut his eyelids.

It had been a wonderful, jam-packed first day in Hawaii.

* * *

**So, I meant to get the whole Hawaii trip in this chapter, but I'm at 13 pages and over 5000 words, so I decided to divide it into a few parts so I can maybe do like 2-3 days at a time. That way I can update maybe once a month. But if you guys would prefer 26 page chapters with more vacation days in them and updates every other month, let me know, because it really doesn't matter to me since the vacation can easily be divided up:) And another thing, I know nothing about if _Wrath of the Titans_ is actually scary or not. I just had to find a guy movie, so I looked at what was playing at my local theater along with summaries and thought that would be something guys would like. I also heard people saying it was somewhat intense, so yeah...but I have not actually seen it because it's not my type of movie:) So anyway, please review and let me know what you think, and happy Easter!**


	43. Author's Note

To all readers:

I know you were expecting a new update, and I'm honestly sorry to disappoint. However, I've just been lacking inspiration lately due to 1) Zanessa not being together and 2) the lack of readers I have. I used to get pretty much feedback, but lately it seems like people just aren't interested in my work anymore. I understand that's most likely my fault for not updating often, so I'm not blaming anyone but myself. But anyway, besides that...I now have a babysitting job nine hours a day twice a week along with a second babysitting job one or two weekends a month. In addition to that, I'm petsitting for neighbors that have been going away and getting things in order for my senior year of high school, which is coming up in the fall. That means I'm trying to figure out what courses I need to take to graduate, organize times for college placement testing, figure out what's required for my major, etc. On top of all this, I'm working to get my drivers' license, which is very important. So this is why I haven't been on lately.

So now, I'm going to tell you about my new story. The only story I have inspiration for at the moment is the Zanessa one that I'm posting on Livejournal. So whenever I have spare time to write, that's the one I work on. It makes me happy and I'm inspired to write it because it talks about Zanessa's future and Vanessa's struggle with the decision to breakup with Austin. I intend for the story to follow them through engagement, marriage, and children with all the difficulties of being a celebrity. (If you're interested, the title of the story is _Second Chances_, and it can be found on my Livejournal account "zanessalove2013" and I also post it through Twitlonger on Twitter for the people who don't like Livejournal. You can follow me on Twitter troyellaizlove.)

But anyway, the bottom line is that I'm putting my stories on fanfiction on an official hiatus. I have no idea how long the hiatus will be. It could be a week, it could be a year. I'm not going to delete because I might get hit with inspiration to continue or I may show up with some oneshots or something later on, so I'm not going to officially discontinue anything.

Also, many of you have probably noticed that my M-rated oneshots are gone. Fanfiction deleted them because they found them offensive, which really annoyed me. I do not have them saved on my computer, so I can't even repost, which really made me angry. So, I guess they're sadly gone forever:'(

Alright, so I think that's about it. I will still be on here to read other authors' work and to answer PMs, but I just won't be writing on here for a while. Please don't ask me when I'm coming back to write because I honestly won't be able to give an answer. I love everyone that gave me kind reviews and suggestions for my work and I really appreciate all the reviews, subscribers, and favorites I got. If you want to follow me more closely, check out my Twitter ( troyellaizlove) and visit my Livejournal to read my Zanessa fanfic (zanessalove2013). Thanks again for supporting me all these years and thanks for putting up with me through deleted stories, crappy chapters, and late updates. Like I said, I'm not official ending these stories; I'm just putting them on hiatus because I don't know when I'll have the time/inspiration to write again.

Thanks for reading this very long A/N, and I hope you're all enjoying your summer:)

-assenaz2013


	44. AN

**Hey everyone! I just wanted to let you all know that I'm starting fresh on a new profile. I'll still be writing Troyella, so go check me out at ~zefronsangel. I'll be posting the updated version of my story ****_Win Some, Lose Some_**** soon.**

**ZefronsAngel**


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